A Journey of Two
by RaenyShrimp
Summary: Pretty much Breath of the Wild but Link gets Shiek as a companion to guide him across the ruins of Hyrule.
1. Chapter 1

"Link,"

The boy shifts slightly, the sound ringing in his ears dull and detached. He'd been dreaming of open fields, flowers dotting the lines of the hills, the sweeping fingers of the wind pulling at his hair. He falls into that world again, boots securely held in stirrups, powerful muscles moving beneath him as hooves smash into the worn path.

"Open your eyes."

He's ripped from his saddle. The world falls away. A white light blinds him and suddenly his eyes are cracked open. His vision is blurry.

"Open your eyes."

The voice is persistent. Everything shifts into focus as blue eyes pull back fully. Above him appears to be a strange sort of flower, suspended from the ceiling. Piercing blue lights shine out from the flower's middle section, on on its petals lie strange linear shapes. Link frowns in confusion. Where is he?

"Wake up Link."

He only notices his suspension in the liquid when it starts to drain away. Quick flicks of his blue eyes reveal that he lies in a tub of some sort, head propped up on an uncomfortable slab. He seems to be dressed only in form fitting undergarments as his bare skin shivers when the cold air comes in contact with in. He blinks a few more times, mind still lost in a haze.

He languidly pushes himself up into a sitting position, his new viewpoint revealing much more of the foreign room. Actually, a cave would be a better word to describe it. Strange glyphs cover the walls, and dark fog permeates floats throughout the air. His hair blond locks cling to the side of his face as wet rivulets of the liquid continue to flow off of him.

He seems to be the only one inside this place. But if that's true, then whose voice was he hearing?

He slowly climbs out of the tub and lands on the chilled ground. A shiver runs through his spine. The floor is too smooth to find good traction on with his wet feet so he cautiously takes a few steps forward. Pulsing blue tubes snake through the ceiling and conglomerate into the suspended flower he had awakened to. The whole contraption must be some kind of machine, he realizes. But why was he placed inside of it?

His blue eyes zone in on a pedestal standing a small distance from him. With no other indication of how to leave the cave, he meticulously makes his way over to it. As he nears, the pedestal emits a high pitched noise and the central circle of the device rotates around, slowly rising out of its resting spot. It comes to rest just to have a rectangular slab pivot away from the circle and out towards Link. The shape of an eye is plastered on the tablet, its blue iris staring ominously at the boy. It locks into place and a galaxy of orange dots surrounding the eye start to pulsate.

"That is a Sheikah Slate."

The light voice informs him, ringing gently in his mind.

"Take it. It will help guide you after your long slumber.

Blond brows pull together in a frown. Long slumber? How long has he been asleep? How would this strange slate guide him? Where is he?

After the voice fails to answer his internal questions, Link reaches out and grasps onto the slate. It's heavier than he expected, cold to the touch, and slick in his hands. He holds it up, peering at its dark surface.

Without warning, it flashes to life with a soft sound, causing Link to flinch. The same eye symbol that is present on the back now glows in the same blinding blue. Link feels as though he's seen the object somewhere before, but he can't quite place when. Actually, he can't quite remember anything at the moment. A pit of dread blossoms in his stomach, but he squashes it down for the meantime.

The pedestal resets itself to its original position and the door behind it rumbles, the columns that were once blocking his path now sliding upward to allow him passage. Link attaches the slate to his belt, the movement feeling practiced and familiar, and starts to head for the now open door.

Another dimly lit room greets him, although it is slightly different. Two chests rest on either side of the walkway that stretches out ahead of him. He immediately opens the one to his left and finds a manila colored shirt and a few leather strappings waiting inside. They seem to be quite old, the fabric coarse and at times threadbare. Still, it would do good to rid his skin of the light goosebumps covering it. He slides the ensemble over his head without a second thought. Unfortunately, the shirt ends up being too short as the sleeves barely cover his elbows and part of his lower stomach is left exposed. Still, he figures, it's better than nothing.

The chest on the right thankfully holds a pair of pants and boots that are in a similar state of ware. The knees of the pants seem about to rip and the boots badly scuffed up. Yet Link tosses them on as well, already feeling more comfortable.

Now fully clothed, he descends the slight ramp towards another closed door. He approaches the corresponding pedestal that calls out to him with an orange glow. When he stands in front of it the feminine voice speaks to him again.

"Hold the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal. That will show you the way."

The voice sounds patient, and yet quite young. Link wonders if the owner is waiting for him outside of the cave, reading to inform him of everything that happened to him.

Eager to leave, Link does as the voice says, delicately placing the slate upon the pedestal's face. The massive door rumbles and the crying eye symbol flashes blue on its center. Then, as expected, the columns raise up and sunlight streams into the cave. Link quickly covers his eyes as he is blinded, and meanders until his is framed in the warm light. A breeze blows into the cave and Link realizes how stale the air inside had felt. His hand limply falls away from his eyes as the voice whispers to him once more.

"Link… You are the light- our light- that must shine upon Hyrule once again. Now go…"

The voice fades and Link finds himself alone in a cave with none of his memories of what happened to him. Stairs lead up and out of the hole ahead of him. They are covered in dust. With no other option than to go forward, he does just that, ascending the stairs.

A large puddle awaits him at the top of the first flight as does a giant boulder that stretches across the entire width of the stairway. Luckily, it is not tall enough to touch the ceiling and Link appraises that he should be able to climb over it. He places his newly acquired brown boots into the puddle and unhappily finds out that they are not waterproof.

Opting to ignore the feeling of water seeping through the leather, he hoists himself up the face of the boulder, surprised at how easily his feet find purchase on the bumpy surface and how practiced the movements of climbing feel. He pulls his body up over the ledge and find only one more flight of stairs between him and the open world. He sees tall pine trees reaching for the bright blue sky and can't help but sprint the rest of the way up the stairs until he is finally free from the damp hole he had awoken in.

Tall grass brushes against the parts of his shins uncovered by his pants and stumbles to a halt at the edge of a cliff. Vast amounts of landscape stretch out before him as he gazes around in wonder. Multitudes of leafy green trees rest beneath him. Enormous ranges of mountains roll in the distance. A massive volcano spews crimson red flames into the sapphire sky.

But the centerpiece of his view is the thing that catches his attention the most. A grand castle sits between the mountains and the volcano, its elegant spires pointed towards the sky. A part of Link reaches for the castle, almost as though the location is of great importance to him.

He turns away from it and the desperate feeling inside him dies down. A myriad of thoughts bubble in his mind ranging from troubled to exhilarated. But they all die down as he beholds a beautiful temple off to his right. And in front of it, a small campfire and what seems to be an large person.

Link's heartbeat picks up. So he isn't alone! He almost stumbles over his own feet in his haste to reach the bottom of the grassy hill. As he nears the campsite he prays that this stranger will have the ability to answer some of his nagging questions.

The man sits cross legged in front of his flickering fire. From his wrinkled face falls a magnificent white beard that covers the dull purple tunic he wears. A similar colored hood is draped over his head, only allowing one dark eye to show above his rather large nose. In his left hand he clutches a walking stick with a sizable lantern attached to it.

Link bounds up to the strange man and waves a hand in greeting to get his attention. The older man glances up at him and breaks into a grin.

"Oho ho! Well met, stranger! It's rather unusual to see another soul in these parts," the older man almost booms, his deep voice taking on a friendly tone.

Link grins back in response, his right hand unconsciously tugging at his too short sleeve. "Who are you?" the boy blurts out, though his voice is rather scratchy from lack of use. He takes a moment to rub his hand along his neck, trying to ease the discomfort that came along with his words.

The man ignores his condition and fixes Link with an amused gaze, "Me? I'll spare you my life story," he chuckles. "I'm just an old fool who has lived here, alone, for quite some time now." His statement makes Link's brows draw together. Surely a place with a temple as grand as the one looming in the distance behind the old man would harbor a decent population, so why would he be living alone?

"What brings a bright-eyed young man like you to a place like this?" The old man asks the distracted boy, breaking him from his thoughts.

But Link couldn't exactly answer a question that he did not know the answer to himself, so he deflects, "Where exactly are we?"

The man raises an eyebrow, "Answering a question with a question. That is fair enough," he muses, taking a long, charred stick and poking the fire with it. He takes a moment to consider his next words. "As I cannot imagine our meeting to be a simple coincidence… I shall tell you."

Link scoots closer to the fire. His hair is still very damp and the excess water has started to soak into his new clothes. The flames warm his skin and his is grateful; he reaches his hands out slowly and rubs them together, trying to ingrain the feeling into his skin.

"This is the Great Plateau," the old man declares, setting the blackened stick across his knees. "According to legend, this is the birthplace of the entire kingdom of Hyrule."

Tendrils of recognition zap through Link, making him snap his head towards the man. Tension pulsates through his nerves. Hyrule.. Why does that name cause such a reaction in him?

The stranger continues to ignore his strange behavior and instead hoists himself to his feet, tossing the fire stick into the hungry flames. He turns away from his camp and extends his gaze on the surrounding area. Link follows suit, taking in the land himself while his body calms down.

There's a pond with a small island planted in the middle of it just down the path from them as well as a large rock that juts out of the ground to create a good diving board to jump into the water. Just beyond that, the temple Link had eyed earlier stands. On closer inspection, Link realizes the state of ruin the building is in. Pillars around it have crumbled, major sections of its high roof have collapsed into the building, and plants have started to climb its stone walls. Link wonders what happened to cause such a grand place to become so dilapidated.

"That temple there… Long ago, it was the site of many sacred ceremonies," The old man sighs. Link tilts his head at him, focusing on his words. A gentle breeze flutters between them, ruffling their clothes in its wake. "Ever since the decline of the kingdom one hundred years ago, it has sat abandoned, in a state of decay." Link blinks his eyes in surprise. No wonder the temple ended up the way it is, being abandoned for such a long time.

The cloaked man ducks his head away from the saddening sight, playing two wrinkled hands on his walking stick. His voice rings with a hint of sadness, "Yet another forgotten entity. A mere ghost of its former self…" Deciding he has had enough of the conversation, the old man waves a hand dismissively. "I shall be here for some time. Please let me know if I may be of service." He then opts to regain his position on the ground, eyes focused once again on the meager fire.

Link, jittery about the sudden end of the conversation, feels as though he needs to do something. So, without a goodbye or really a plan at all, he turns heel and starts a path towards the ruined temple. He figures if he wants answers about this 'Hyrule', that may be the best place to start.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything on the Great Plateau is lush and full of life. Tiny lizards dart between his feet and trees reach over him to provide him shade. On his way down the well beaten path he spots a tree stump with an axe embedded into it. Figuring that the axe would have more use than the mere branch he had grabbed impulsively earlier, he quickly swaps the two, hoping that the axe's owner won't mind.

His feet hit the remains of an old cobblestone path that is slowly being overtaken by weeds and grass. He bends down and slides the pads of his fingers across the worn stones. He wonders what kind of civilization placed them there, and if this small path was surrounded by houses. Link's heart grows heavy, though he is not sure why. He didn't know these people, or at least he doesn't remember them.

Is is in that moment of vulnerability that Link hears heavy footsteps behind him. They move too fast to be the old man he had met earlier, so Link instinctively pulls his axe from where he had secured it on his back and turns around.

A small red creature crouches a short distance away from Link. Large ears sprout from either side of its tiny oval head and its gangly arms seem too long for its stubby body. It turns its head almost sideways and utters a loud animal like yell towards the blond. Link must have intruded on its territory, he realizes.

The creature rushes towards Link, a scraggly tree branch grasped it is hand and its blue eyes flashing with aggression. Link clumsily hops out of the way as the tree branch smacks into the ground he had been previously standing on. Without a hint of hesitation Link grabs tightly onto his axe and swings it around his body. He grins in satisfaction as he makes contact with his enemy, the momentum of the weapon causing the creature to be flung a small distance away.

The red monster loses grip of his weapon mid flight and Link struggles to regain his balance after his attack. The axe sure is top heavy.

The tree branch rests quietly between the two battlers. They make eye contact, waiting to see who will rush for the discarded weapon first. As a being of no patience, the small red creature dashes for its branch, and Link follows suit, his slightly longer legs winning the race and kicking the tree branch behind him. As the red monster tries to dart around him, Link hoists his axe over his head and brings it down with a satisfying crunch on the creature's head.

The red monster staggers and falls to the ground, the small white horn on the top of its head cracks off as a result of the fatal blow. Link waits a moment in a battle crouch to make sure the creature is truly dead before walking over to inspect the body. He picks up the horn. Link figures it might be possible to turn it into an arrow head or something of the sort and pockets it for future use.

Upon reflection, Link is impressed at his own instinct for battle. He must have had a lot of experience with combat in the past, he concludes. He straps the axe back onto his back and resumes his path towards the temple, his steps much more confident now.

At the end of the downward sloping path rested what might have been a small building in the past. It no longer has a roof and many of the walls have crumbled away. Link slowly enters through what must have been the doorway and glances around. The floor is completely grown over with wild grass and flowers, and yet some of the glass windows still remain in place, hinting that the building was once a place of beauty and grace. Straight ahead of him stands the remains of decoration of sorts, a prominent wing like shape the only part remaining untouched. Link wonders what it once was.

" _Link_."

The boy jolts at the return of the female voice in his mind. He had assumed it had permanently left after his departure from his awakening cave. He doesn't mind though, the voice brought along warmth and comfort.

" _Head to the point marked on the map in your Sheikah Slate."_

Oh, right. Link had almost forgotten about the slate resting on his hip. He pulls it away from his belt and watches as a map materializes on it's surface. Well… if one could even call it a map. Everything is covered by a dark blue gridded system. Thin, light blue lines define what Link assumes are different regions. There are only two points that appear. The first is labeled "Shrine of Resurrection". Link can only assume this is where he awoke. But… resurrection insinuated being brought back from death. Link choses to ignore what that means about his past.

Instead, he focuses on the other point that glows a bright yellow orange. He would head there soon enough to appease the voice, but he still wants to explore the mysterious temple first.

Exiting the husk of a building, he spies another one of those red monsters walking down a staircase just ahead of him. It spots him before he can move, and runs at him with a guttural screech. This one is slightly different, Link notes. Around its neck hangs a rope adorning one small skull, and its weapon appears to be some sort of club.

Link reaches for the handle of his axe to hoist it off his back as quick as he can, but the creature reaches him just as he manages to bring his weapon around to his front. Link stumbles as the club makes contact with his side. The adrenaline pumping through him causes him ignore the pain for a moment as he harshly imbeds his axe into the creature's skull. The red being staggers before falling onto its side, dark blood oozing from the wound. It doesn't move again.

Pulse racing, Link inspects his stinging side. Nothing broken, but a large bruise will probably blossom soon. Maybe he isn't as practiced at combat as he had thought.

The axe's large size was good for inducing damage but drastically slowed down his movements. He eyes the more compact club that the monster had been using. It might take a bit more work to fell an enemy with it, but it would allow Link greater agility. After a moment of deliberation, Link takes the club into his hands and notices a small white object next to it. Upon inspection, he realizes it is a tooth from the enemy. He places it right next to the horn from the last one. He is sure it will have use later on.

At the top of the grass covered staircase he engages in yet another enemy, easily obtaining a victory thanks to the new weapon. His felled foe seems to have been guarding another old building, this one in an even worse state than before. As Link wanders about the ruins he spots a faded chest on a small platform along the back wall. Surprised at the lack of a lock on the chest, he pops it open, finding a new set of trousers within its depths. They seem longer and of better quality than the ones currently being worn, so he glances around before quickly changing into the new pants and boots. The pants are of a dark cream color and the boots made of good quality leather. He is sure that this pair won't be so easily waterlogged. He tosses the old clothes back into the chest before turning and exiting the area. Now if only he could find a new shirt.

Link jogs up the last staircase and takes in the large structure standing in front of him. The arch that he assumes makes up the entrance only half remains. Most of the walls are deteriorated but the energy of peace and calm still remains and Link feels a sense of safety settle within him. Calmly walking under the arch he glances to his left. The entire left wall is still in tact, with fogged windows and everything. Link is amazed by the detail put into the architecture. The windows span many lengths above him, carved into the wall with meticulous care. This lost civilization must have been quite impressive, Link muses.

His gaze then travels to the right his heart nearly stops. Crouched right next to him is a giant, hulking creation. Spindly legs sprawl out from the center body; it looms over Link with a haunting eye that looks like it will come to life any second. Every muscle in Link's body tells him to turn and run, and the racing of his heart agreed. _You're not ready…_ his mind whispers harshly to him.

So Link does just that, turning on his heels and sprinting away from the foreboding shell. He quickly loses stamina after a few moments of running, but pushes on, attempting to get as much distance between him and that thing as possible. He's not sure why it scares him so- it is clearly inactive and he has no real reason to fear it. It must have something to do with his past, he thinks with annoyance.

Only once he is safely down the stairs and on the opposite side of a disheveled fountain does he stop to catch his breath. He glances back up at the temple, bitter about not being able to fully explore it but agreeing with his mind about not being ready to step foot in it yet. With nothing else left to do, he pulls out his Sheikah Slate and faces in the direction of where the voice wanted him to go. Until he has completed this task, he decides, he would not stray from the course.

Almost as soon as he has taken his first few steps, two blue blobs rocket from the ground, surprising Link so much that he has to take a step back. They are small, not even coming up to his knees. Link gives each one a quick hit with his club and they explode on impact, leaving only small blobs of a jelly like substance in their wake.

The blond continues down the cobblestone path, remnants of the lost civilization surrounding him. A few more of those multi legged husks are littered around him, and he quickly averts his gaze whenever he gets too close to one.

As he nears his destination he notices what appears to be a gazebo of sorts hidden under the shadow of a rock resting against it. Another red creature is guarding it and is more fittingly equipped. It holds a short silver sword and a crude wooden shield. Link hopes he can take both as spoils of victory.

Crouching to close as much distance as possible without the enemy noticing him, Link quietly approaches. He doesn't get too far before the creature turns towards him and makes an aggressive squeal, running at him with sword already in swing. Link hops to the side and into a battle position, club held close in preparation. The red creature glares at him and puts its shield up, taunting Link to make the first move. Link dashes in, trying to aim to the creature's side to avoid the shield, but the creature shifts its position and his club clinks uselessly against the wood.

The monster takes this opportunity to swipe at Link's exposed side, an attack which Link barely manages to avoid. The creature growls in frustration at the miss, arms hanging at its side as it does so. Link sees this as an opportunity and flourishes his club right into the creature's exposed midsection and lands a quick succession of hits shortly after, securing his victory.

The boy retrieves the dropped sword and shield from his fallen foe, and they both feel much more comfortable in his grasp than the club and axe did. He also notices a bundle of arrows tucked into the creature's waist sack. He figures he'll find a bow later on, and shoves the arrows into his belt loop for safe keeping. With that accomplished, he approaches the structure he was instructed to go to.

The closer he gets, the more he realizes that the structure is definitely not a gazebo. A large stone like object is suspended above yet another Sheikah pedestal, with three legs jutting out of it for support. Link does the logical thing and places his slate against the orange glowing pedestal.

The slate clicks into place and an orange burst of light erupts from the pedestal. Blue text appears reading: _Sheikah Tower activated. Please watch for falling rocks._

Link only has a second to wonder what that means before the ground starts unexpectedly shaking and he is knocked off balance and thrown to the ground. Suddenly, the platform he is laying on bursts towards the sky, throwing numerous rocks into the air to land with a loud thud against the ground.

When Link is once again able to stand he is shocked to find himself on a tower that extends exceedingly high into the air. He glances in amazement at his slate, wondering how simply placing it onto the pedestal could have caused such a reaction.

More text appears. _Distilling local information…_

Link gapes as blue text descends from the top of the suspended stone. The text is in a language Link does not understand, and he watches in a mix of confusion and wonder as a small drop of liquid collects at the bottom point of the stone before dropping onto his slate. Streams of blue light burst from the collision and Link backs away. The slate pulls up the map screen and a detailed layout of the Great Plateau area is revealed.

 _Regional map extracted._ The slate helpfully informs him. The slate pops back out towards him and he carefully attaches it to his belt. What a strange day, he thinks.

As he steps away from the pedestal the soft voice whispers in his mind once again.

" _Remember…_ " Link stops his movement, straining to hear the voice properly.

" _Try… try to remember..._ " The voice insists, louder now. Link frowns. He wishes it was that easy.

From the corner of his eye he notices a bright light appear, turning towards it he realizes it's shining from the castle. He runs to the edge of the tower, squinting towards the light.

" _You have been asleep for the past 100 years._ " Link's eyes widen. That can't be true, he thinks.

The ground shakes once again but Link is able to keep his balance this time.

" _The beast…_ " The voice softly warns. Dark purple and black fog suddenly surrounds the castle, and a giant shadowy form erupts from the ground and flies circles around the castle, spreading its giant maw apart in a eerie scream.

" _When the beast regains its true power, this world will face its end._ " The shadow creature floats around the castle in a kind of warning. Behind its path it leaves a large trail of the purple tinged blackness. And yet, it never once blocks out the yellow light. The beast reaches the apex of the highest spire of the castle and releases a monstrous growl, it's yellow eyes daring Link to approach. With that, it fades away, but the homogeneous shadows swarming around the castle do not yield.

" _Now then… You must hurry, Link._ " The voice insists, a hint of desperation tinging the words. " _Before it's too late…_ " It warns, before fading away from his mind, leaving him even more confused and concerned than before.


	3. Chapter 3

A nippy breeze whips against Link's face as he stares out dazedly at the looming castle in the distance. He barely notices the cold, though, as his thoughts whirl through his mind languidly, mulling over the information that has just been dropped onto him.

He had been asleep for 100 years…

Everything he has learned slowly snaps into place. He must have been put into that cave around the time that the 'Hyrule' kingdom had fallen. He has no doubt that the two events are connected, but he is not yet sure how. Why was he placed in the cave alone? Surely there were others that needed protection from the fall as well.

Hurry, the voice had also said. But towards what, Link is still unsure. What did he have to achieve? And how long until the Beast regains its power? The boy shakes his head in frustration. Every question answered for him brings yet another unanswered.

Another harsh blow of the chilled wind reminds LInk that he still remains atop the tower with no perceivable way down. He turns away from the castle, deciding to focus on one thing at a time.

A quick scan of the top of the tower reveals to him a large hole in the floor, opening to a platform resting beneath it. The platform seems to be fixed to the side of the tower's long base, with several others swirling downwards around the perimeter towards the distant ground. Without a second though, Link falls through the hole and lands neatly onto the awaiting platform.

He makes his way towards the ground quickly, breathing a sigh of relief once his boots hit the dirt. His solitude is short lived, though, before a yell startles him and the old man swoops down next to him from the sky with the use of a glider of some sort.

Two wrinkled hands are placed onto the worn walking stick and a chuckle escapes from the man's lips.

"My, my… It would seem we have quite the enigma here," The old man comments, dipping his head towards the blond. Link silently agrees with him; he is an enigma even to himself. The aged man glances out to the landscapes surrounding the plateau, "This tower and others just like it have erupted across the land, one after another."

Link raises a hand and attempts to clarify that he didn't know what he was doing, but the old man interrupts him. "It's almost as though… a long dormant power has awoken quite suddenly." He raises a bushy white eyebrow at Link. "If you don't mind me asking, did anything… odd occur while you were atop the tower?"

Link almost laughs. Odd? He didn't even know where to begin to explain the oddities that had just occurred. He decides to start with the most concerning, "Yeah… I heard a voice," Link informs him, gesturing to the pinnacle of the tower he had just been standing upon.

The stranger blinks in surprise, "Well now! A voice you say?" Link worries the man thinks him insane, but dips his head in confirmation anyways. Dark fingers find their way into the abundant white beard, "And did you happen to recognize this mysterious voice?"

A frown plasters itself on Link's face. "Of course not. All I know is that it belongs to a young female who happens to know who I am."

A flicker of disappointment passes through the man's eyes. "I see." He pauses and releases a heavy sigh, "Well, that is most unfortunate." He turns away from the young boy and gestures towards the dark castle on the horizon. "I assume you caught sight of that atrocity enshrouding the castle," The older man speculates. Link follows his gaze and crosses his arms, nodding in affirmation.

Yet another sign escapes from the old man, "That… is Calamity Ganon," A sharp pain blossoms in Link's mind as he is overwhelmed with a bitter recognition. "One hundred years ago, that vile enemy brought the kingdom of Hyrule to ruin.

"It appeared suddenly and destroyed everything in its path. So many innocent lives were lost in its wake," The old man's tone is swathed in a deep regret, the gaze in his eyes turning dark and he falls silent for a moment.

The younger boy turns towards him, a great agony climbing its way up his spine with every word the older man shares. Aged hands fidget their grip on the walking stick, "For a century, the very symbol of our kingdom, Hyrule Castle, has managed to contain that evil. But just barely… There it festers, building its strength for the moment it will unleash its blight upon the land once again." The man faces Link, dark eyes grave. "It would appear that moment is fast approaching."

Link meets his gaze and feels a moment of shared dread pass between them. They can't allow that to happen, Link decides. The land has already endured a terrible trauma. He seemed to have escaped it, for whatever reason. The least he can do is make sure Calamity Ganon can't cause such agony again, in whatever way he can.

The old man waits a moment for Link to process his words before speaking again, almost as if he read Link's thoughts. "I must ask you, courageous one… Do you intend to make your way to the castle?"

The air is heavy as Link formulates his words. There must be a reason the voice chose him to speak to. He must have some sort of role in stopping the Beast's reawakening. "If that's where I can stop Hyrule's tragic fate then… I do," Link says resolutely, the words sounding right on his tongue.

The old man pauses but a moment before releasing a quiet laugh, "I had a feeling you would say that," he admits. He beckons Link to follow him as he steps forward to the edge of the plateau, casting his eyes downward wearily. "Here, on this isolated plateau, we are surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs, with no way down." Link blinks at him in surprise at the sudden shift in topic.

The older man hums thoughtfully, "If you were to try to jump off, well… no death could be more certain." His eyes dart to look at the boy, "Or more foolish." Link crosses his arms in defense, a bit offended that the man would assume him to be one to jump heedlessly to his death.

The larger man waves a hand, both eyebrows raising together, "Of course, if you had a paraglider like mine, that would be quite another story."

Link, growing a bit sick of the conversation, holds out his hands, "Then hand it over," he states quite simply.

The older man regards him for a moment before barking a laugh, "Oho! Certainly! Why not? But there is no such thing as a free item in this world, you know." The blond huffs and crosses his arms once again in impatience. How was he supposed to take action and save Hyrule if this stubborn old man won't even give him the only way off the plateau?

"Let's see now…" The old man muses, pacing around Link slowly, "How about I trade it for a bit of treasure that slumbers nearby?" Link raises an eyebrow in interest and follows the man's path with only his eyes. The old man stops in his tracks and motions for the boy to follow him, "Come. Let me show you something." Without waiting for confirmation, he turns and saunters away.

Link begrudgingly follows after a moment of stubborn hesitation, annoyed at having his time wasted. They walk together up a nearby hill of rock and the leader points his stubby finger across a small valley. Link's gaze follows the line of his arm until his eyes rest upon a petite orange colored building. His blue irises then flick to the older man for explanation.

"It began glowing at the exact moment those towers rose up from the ground," the old man explains without preamble, tapping his walking stick against the ground. "I would think such a place might house some sort of treasure, wouldn't you?" Link casts him a deadpanned look. The fate of Hyrule rests in the balance and all the old man can think about is getting his hands on treasure? Link's respect for him takes a nosedive.

"Treasure for the paraglider. A fair exchange, I believe." The old man finishes smugly, lapsing into silence and looking at the boy expectantly. Link runs a hand through his bangs. Unfortunately, he would have to play along with the old geiser's crazy demands until he can snatch away the paraglider. Then he would leave the plateau and never look back.

With those thoughts in mind, Link determinately faces the strange glowing structure and makes his way down the slope of the rock. A low, gray, stone wall watches over another expanse of water and Link debates his options. There is a path stretching around the pool of liquid to his left, but the way is littered with the robotic husks he so dislikes. With that in mind, the boy decides to take the most direct path- to swim directly across.

He prepares himself and dives into the water, pleasantly surprised to find its depths quite warm, and strokes his way across. He clambers to land leaking out through a rather sizeable hole in another stone wall and shakes himself of excess water as best he can. With just another small run up a hill he stands face to face with orange structure.

On closer inspection it seems like a stone hut covered in the same type of glyphs that decorated the walls of the cave he awoke in. A familiar pedestal sat off to the right of a blocked off opening in the structure, and Link quickly places his slate upon it. As expected, the pedestal erupts in a blue light and the entire structure follows suit, changing from the mellow orange to a blinding blue. Link starts to wonder if orange and blue are the only colors these types of things are capable of.

Sheikah Slate confirmed. Travel Gate registered to map. Access Granted.

The blocked off opening slowly opens, revealing a blue circle with the notorious crying eye symbol plastered in the middle. The blond boldly enters the circle, causing something to shift and blue smoke to burst from the circumference of the circle. And just like that, Link starts to lower as the blue circle sinks into the ground beneath him.

A halo of blue surrounds him and his platform as it comes to a halt in an underground opening. The boy hops off the small raise and onto the floor as a deep, almost distorted voice rings in his mind telling him he must prove his worth inside this shrine.

Link starts to truly wonder if he is going crazy after hearing two different voices in his head.

Link's eyes widen in awe as he takes it in. The walls are slick and dark, the floor covered in light tiles. Two giant metal plates rest in the ground and a barred doorway stands just beyond them. He cannot deny how similar the shrine is to his original cave. He wonders for a moment if these buildings are remnants of the fallen Hyrule.

Shaking his head, he notes that off to his left is another suspended stone, almost identical to the one that caused the tower to raise into the sky. Figuring that will guide him, he moves in front of it and places his slate into the waiting slot, preparing himself in case the stone decided to create another tower.

Sheikah Slate authenticated. Distilling rune…

Link relaxes as the blue energy drips down the stone, combining into a drop of liquid that is to fall onto his slate. It seems for now he is to remain underground.

A new icon appears on his slate after the distilling process concludes: Magnesis.

Rune extracted.

Now curious, Link retrieves his slate and taps on the new icon. His vision is instantly flooded by a red sheen save for the two metal slabs in the ground, which now glow a lively pink. He grins in excitement, pointing his slate at one of the plates. A yellow beam flies from his slate and impacts the chosen plate, causing it to float. Link moves his hand and as expected, the plate follows his movements effortlessly. He laughs and flings it across the room, causing the yellow beam to beak and the plate to clang loudly against the wall. A gaping hole in the floor reveals itself in the absence of the plate.

Link stares at his slate in amazement. How could such a small thing possess such power?

Deciding not to question his luck, he drops down into the hole and lands on a narrow pathway running parallel to a stream of crystal clear water. He follows the path and ascends a small staircase, now safely on the other side of the gated entrance that was blocking his path. Although, as he turns his gaze ahead of him, he realizes another obstacle blocks his path: a wall of blocks as big as half his height.

He quickly realises the trick to the puzzle, though, and uses Magnesis to pull out the sole metal block of the bunch and uses it to push down the rest. Shrines are pretty simple, he concludes with a satisfied smirk.

He ducks around the mass of fallen blocks and suddenly he isn't so sure of his previous thought.

A small robotic creature stands in front of him, about the height of Link's hips. It seems to be a miniature version of the hulking giant Link had fled from earlier. Link's body turns to ice and his thoughts are flooded with the vision of blinking red lights. He remains frozen as the creature shuffles and its eye turns blue.

An echoey, metallic noise starts to emit from it as Link shakes himself from his visions of crimson and rolls behind one of the fallen blocks, heart in his throat as a pulse of blue light barely misses him. Coming fully to his senses, he pulls out his sword and shield. Time to face his fears, he thinks resolutely.

Dashing from behind the block, Link lets out a yell as he hurtles himself into the air and arcs his sword towards the creature. Unfortunately, it dodges the falling blond quite easily and starts to charge another blue shot. In a panicked haze, Link jerkily lands and sloppily swipes his sword, the tip barely coming into contact with the creature's outer shell.

Luckily, this seems to momentarily stun the creature and its charge stops. Link huffs in relief and takes that moment of weakness to hit it again. The creature staggers backwards and can't quite release another pulse before Link ends the fight with a neat slash to its right side. The robot quivers in place and erupts in a burst of blue light and smoke, leaving various small parts behind in its wake. Link bends down and takes a few as a trophy, feeling proud of himself for overcoming the battle.

He solves yet another metal plate puzzle to cross a gap between two platforms, concluding once again that the puzzles in Shrines must have been made by someone lacking creativity. With one last use of Magnesis to pull open a giant set of metal doors, Link falters when he sees what lies before him.

A stagnant person sits stoically inside a blue force field on a raised platform, a small set of stairs placed in front of it presumably for Link to climb up. He slowly does so, eyes focused on the person the entire time.

They seem to be ancient. Their skin is ashy and a dark gray. They have long, flowing white hair that falls over their shriveled shoulders and bare chest. The crying eye symbol is painted boldly in white on their forehead and down the length of their nose. It also flashes in blue on the surface of the force field in front of him. Link wonders what the symbol represents as he reaches a hand out to touch it.

As his fingers brush against the symbol, the entire force field abruptly shatters into millions of tiny splinters that hover in the air for a moment before fading from view. Link jerks backwards in surprise.

The deep voice that he had heard at the entrance of the shrine once again echoes in his mind.

You have proven to possess the resolve of a true hero.

I am Oman Au, the creator of this trial.

I am a humble monk, blessed with the sight of Goddess Hylia and dedicated to helping those who seek to defeat Ganon.

With you arrival, my duty is now fulfilled.

In the name of the Goddess Hylia, allow me to bestow this gift upon you…

Please accept this Spirit Orb.

The voice falls to silence and from within the middle of the monk's core a purple orb materializes. A symbol of a flying bird appears to be floating in the middle of the murky sphere. It flies the span between the monk and Link, merging into Link's chest before he can react. Link touches his chest in wonder, feeling warmth spread throughout his body.

May the Goddess smile upon you.

The voice whispers in finality, fading from his mind. And then, to Link's horror, the monk disintegrates into tiny green specks that float away. The boy only has a moment to stand there in solitude before a blue glow envelops his body and his vision goes black.

Then, he's suddenly standing outside the shrine. And just as suddenly, a yell sounds from above him before the soft thump of feet against the dirt further announces the old man's arrival.

"It seems you managed to get your hands on a Spirit Orb. Well done!" He exclaims loudly, clapping Link on the shoulder.

The blond shrugs away the contact, astonished, "How did you know?!"

The old man gives a toothy grin, "Clairvoyance! Oho, or perhaps just something similar," he answers cryptically. His face settles into a more dire mug, "The appearance of those towers and the awakening of this shrine…" His eyes shift down to the slate attached snugly to Link's waist, "It is all connected to that Sheikah Slate you carry on your hip there."

Link unconsciously moves a protective hand over the slate, "What do you mean?"

The boy is answered by a shrug as the old man places his hands tightly on his walking stick. "It has been quite some time since I have seen that Sheikah Slate…" His gaze floats up to the crying eye symbol imbedded at the top of the shrine.

"Long ago, a highly advanced tribe known as the Sheikah inhabited these lands," the cloaked man starts to explain. Link perks up at his words, blue eyes darting to the same crying eye symbol as the man continues to speak, "The great power of their wisdom saved this kingdom time and time again… But their ancient technology disappeared long ago… Or so it is said." He motions a large hand to the newly opened shrine entrance. "It is interesting, however, to think… how something like that survived all this time, hidden away in a shrine." Link agreed with the old man's wonder. He had no idea how that monk had survived alone in the shrine if their civilization truly ceased to exist so long ago.

The old man thrusts forward his walking stick causing the lantern to clank against the smooth wood. "These shrines are tucked away in numerous places all across the land. On this plateau alone, I believe there are three more." Link tenses, narrowing his eyes as he sees where the conversation is heading. "Bring me the treasure from each of those shrines… and I will give you my paraglider," he finishes with a nod.

Link bristles, clenching his fists, "That wasn't the deal!"

The old man eyes him dangerously, "Oh? Well, I suppose I changed my mind. I'm sure that won't be a problem for a young go-getter like you!" His voice betrays a hint of a challenge to defy him. "Since I'm feeling generous, I will also teach you a trick for finding shrines."

Link shifts his weight onto his left foot, the flush of annoyance diminishing slightly. At least the old man is offering to help in some way.

"It's always best to survey the area by looking around from a high point. Let's see here…" He glances around, eyes narrowing before a miniscule smile appears on his lips. "How about you make your way to the top of that tower again?"

Tired from his arduous, Link didn't want to hear that. "Are you joking?" He asks incredulously. The tower was at least ten times his height and his body was already starting to ache from all the movement after a hundred years of rest.

But, his response is his signature laughter tinged with no sympathy for the young boy. "Oho! I am afraid not. But do not worry! I have another little trick to share with you for your effort." Link eyes him suspiciously. "Take a look at the map on your Sheikah Slate," the old man explains patiently.

The blond slowly pulls out his slate and opens the map. The cloaked man hobbles so that he is hovering behind his shoulder. He peers down at the map, "See those blue icons? You should recognize the cave where you work, the shrine you came from, and the tower." His tanned finger points to the three icons in turn. "You can travel instantly to any of those places with the Sheikah Slate."

Link's head jolts up in surprise. How is that even possible? The old man hobbles away from the boy and waves a hand dismissively, "Or so I heard quite some time ago… I do not know if it actually works as such." Apparently finished talking, he turns his head upwards to the tower, as if expecting Link to suddenly appear where his gaze lands.

A grin grows on Link's lips as he quickly tries the new trick, finger tapping with precision onto the tower icon on his map. Almost instantly his body begins to be outlined in swirling blue patterns as his feet lift off the ground. He panics slightly, attempting to shift his body as he floats. His feet go numb and as he glances downwards he realizes that they have disappeared into nothing. Fear grips his mind as the numbing feeling works its way up his body. The last thing he sees are the glittering eyes of the old man watching as he fades from existence.


	4. Chapter 4

Link finds himself on top of the tower, his body buzzing and head reeling. It takes him a moment to regain his balance. When he finally feels steady on his own feet, he is nearly thrown to the ground when a loud laugh sounds to his left. The blond swings his head towards the laugh and is simultaneously shocked and unsurprised to see the old man standing there, who only moments ago remained at the base of the Shrine. Link squints in confusion. How did he get here so fast?

"I'm surprised it took you so long to catch up with an old man like me," He chuckles, glancing down at the shorter Link. His dark eyes twinkle with mischief and… pride?

Link leans forward a bit, "How did you…?"

But, the old man interrupts with another chuckle, "Oho ho! Leave an old man to his secrets."

He turns away from the flabbergasted boy, his face awash with the colors of the sunset. "Now then… I wanted you to join me up here so you could use this as a vantage point to search for Shrines," he explains. He bobs his head towards the slate on Link's hip, "Did you know about the scope on your Sheikah Slate?"

No, Link thinks bitterly, but how do you? He doesn't voice this question, though, and the old man continues on, "Look through it, and you can stick a pin anywhere you'd like to mark on the map."

Link frowns, "How do you know all these things?" Suspicion creeps into his tone.

The cloaked man frowns, though the expression is hard to see due to his luxurious beard. "Experience, wisdom… instinct?" He raises a challenging eyebrow, "Call it what you will and believe it only if you so please," Link detects a bit of sarcasm tinging his words. "Go ahead and take a look, if you feel so inclined to." The old man shrugs dismissively and turns his view towards the horizon.

The blond lets out a sigh and pulls out his slate, holding it up to eye level and enabling the scope. With a bit of searching he marks the three closest shrines on his map. It's hard not to notice the vast amount of land stretching beyond the plateau as he does so. The thought of exploring it all makes the boy both nervous and giddy at the same time.

With the task done, he puts away the slate and notes how dark the sky is getting. His body aches and feels like lead, and he suddenly longs for the warmth a campfire brings.

And he can have it, he realizes. He brings his slate back into his chilled hands and clicks on the icon for the Shrine of Resurrection. All he would have to do is retrace his steps and stay the night at the old man's camp. He won't mind, right?

After the trippy teleportation he makes his way back out of the cave, noting with satisfaction that this time around his boots do not get soaked from a single step in the puddle. It takes no time at all to reach the fire he had met the old man at originally, but to his shock, the old man is there lounging in his usual spot. He had beat him back! But how?

Link suspects there is more to the man that he lets on, but he doesn't question it in fear of making the stranger into an enemy. He does need that paraglider, after all. So with that, he settles down next to the crackling fire and takes a bite of the delicious looking baked apple lying next to him.

The old man raises a bushy eyebrow but opts not to say anything to the boy. As soon as Link finishes his meal he leans back against the rocky overhang and drifts into sleep.

The next day finds him ascending the same steps to the temple that he had fled from the previous day. He doesn't dare enter the building housing the terrifying creature, though. Instead, he hooks a quick left and sprints away. This is the path he needs to take to get to the first of the three Shrines.

He hops onto a worn stone wall and peers down into the valley below where a giant skull seems to be resting. Gentle lights flicker inside the skull and Link assumes the skull houses some sort of creature. Not wanting to initiate a fight this early in the morning, Link easily walks along the perimeter of the wall and jumps a small gap to reach the other side.

As he approaches the location of the Shrine, Link sees multiple ruined buildings with the robotics husks draped all over them. He shivers and fights the urge to run again, instead cautiously approaching them. He passes right by a few of them without any incident and slowly releases some of the tension gripping his body.

Just as he starts to relax, though, one of the husks sunken half into the ground stirs and alights with pink and blue lights. It's head swivels slightly and instantly sets its focus onto Link. The blond can't help but freeze in place. A red laser beam zaps onto his chest and an alarm sound blares from the awakened husk. Blue energy starts to gather around its eye and Link rolls behind a wall to get out of sight, his chest heaving.

Something prickles on the edge of his memory, something painful, something horrifying, but it can't seem to break through.

Link refuses to go back into its sight range, so he frantically searches for another way to get to the Shrine. Luckily, the walls offer good grip, so it is quite easy for him to climb over a few and land a short distance away from his destination.

The Shrine is separated from the awakened husk by a wall and a huge pile of rocks jammed into an archway in the wall. Link thanks the stars for those rocks as he walks up to the Shrine and enters it.

The pedestal in the Shrine grants Link two new runes- two differently shaped bombs. It's pretty self explanatory that he has to place a bomb in front of slightly cracked stone blocks. He presses a button on the slate and the stones explode as expected. Link decides he likes the bombs, they're quite straightforward and intuitive to use.

That is until he doesn't move far away enough from his next bomb and ends up propelling himself across the room. Link then decides he doesn't like bombs.

Still, he manages to find a hidden chest containing a new and better sword, although due to it's weight he cannot use a shield with it. He decides to use it anyways due to its superior quality. He tosses his short sword to the side and slights the new claymore across his back.

The next room is filled with pillars that burst diagonally out of the ground at even intervals with enough force to propel objects across the room to another pillar. He spies another chest across the room and grins, knowing exactly what he has to do.

He climbs onto the platform and is launched across the room as the pillar pushes against him. He lands neatly next to the chest and opens it quickly, excited. He hopes to find a new shirt inside, but instead he retrieves an amber. Drooping his shoulders, he pockets the item anyways, wondering if the old man would appreciate it.

He proceeds to launch a bomb across the room, exploding some blocks that are in the way, and is gifted the Spirit Orb from another monk who fades from existence. He's starting to notice a pattern in these Shrines.

As he is teleported back to the surface he comes face to face with the giant pile of very bombable rocks. He knows what he is supposed to do, but he also knows that blowing the rocks up will give the laser shooting robot the perfect target on him, as it waits patiently on the other side. Opting to not become robot dinner, he exits the area the way he entered- climbing walls.

Once his feet are planted safely in a nearby grassy field he can easily see his next Shrine- perched on the edge of a cliff. He doubts he has enough skill or stamina to climb a cliff that high and steep… he decides to look for another way up.

He starts his way across the plain, taking time to enjoy the sun's warm rays on his skin. Crickets leap out of the tall grass around him and butterflies flit just out of his reach. He enjoys his time alone with nature.

But, before long a small wooden cabin comes into his view. It's crudely made, but sturdy enough to hold up in rough weather. A fire is alight in front if it, suggesting someone has been there recently. Link approaches the cabin without precaution, glancing through the doorway curiously. Inside contains a small table, a roughly made bed, and a shelf… if one wanted to call it that. Two peppers and a notebook rest on the table.

The place puzzles the boy. The old man had told him that no others linger on the Plateau. Could he have been wrong?

Link hesitates only a moment before his hand darts out and takes the peppers for his own. This person had a home, and Link didn't. He didn't feel bad about taking the peppers, this person could spare some food.

Next he turns his head to peek at the open notebook. The handwriting contained inside is simple, yet elegant. The writing is mostly just ramblings about cooking and how the writer would gladly give up their warm doublet for a recipe he had forgotten. Link rolls his eyes and continues to inspect the place.

An axe leans against the backwall that the boy ignores; another baked apple and a strange green mushroom are delicately placed on the shelf. Link takes both.

He exits the cabin, satisfied that his pouch is starting to feel full, and continues to head towards the Shrine. But, he stops suddenly in his tracks when he sees the old man standing on the edge of a sharp drop, diligently cutting down a tall pine tree. Link mentally slaps himself, of course that was his cabin.

He glances over his large shoulder as Link approaches, a smile stretched across his face, "Oho! Fancy that! So we meet again."

The blond gestures to the tree the old man is whacking upon, "What are you doing?"

The old man pats the tree fondly, "I thought this tree here might make for some good firewood," He pauses, "However… getting a tree to fall exactly where you want it to is quite an art." He shifts and rotates his body to the side, hosting the old axe over his shoulder. "The trick is to turn your hips so that they face where you want the tree to land." He lectures the younger boy.

Just as he is about to swing his axe he stills, sniffing the air and eyeing Link, "I see you found my cabin and baked apple. Why not grab that axe I keep in there and help me out?" He asks accusingly. "I'm working up quite a sweat here… but these bones could use a break."

Link rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, backtracking towards the house to retrieve the axe. He needs to get across the large gap in the ground anyways, so making a tree bridge wouldn't be a waste of his time.

Once he returns with the tool in hand, he lines himself up like the old man had told him to, hips facing the tree. With three hefty swings he manages to fell the tree… only for it to plunge into the abyss. A chuckle sounds behind him and Link shoots a glare before trying again on a second tree.

Luckily this tree manages to span the gap quite nicely and Link leaves his axe slammed into the trunk before shimmying across the makeshift bridge without saying goodbye- he has a job to do, after all.

As he hops off the other end of the trunk he stands in front of a very vertical face of a cliff. Upon inspection he finds a handful of platforms jutting out from the cliffside spaced just close enough to allow Link to climb from one to the next without worry of falling. He even manages to grab a new type of purple mushroom on his way up.

He pulls himself over the edge of the cliff and his fingers sting, his toes scream from being jammed into the small stone crevices, and his entire body glistens as though he had just stepped from under a waterfall. He slumps against the edge of the Shrine to catch is breath, then makes his way inside.

His first glimpse of the Shrine's challenges unnerves him. It looks much more complicated than the previous two. A massive gear rotates in front of him, spinning a rectangular platform in circles. Beyond that, a large yet narrow ramp has an endless stream of giant boulders running down it. He warily makes his way over to the pedestal and gains the rune of Stasis.

Upon activating Stasis, his vision is engulfed with a light yellow and the rotation gear is drenched with a darker variation of the color. He waits for the platform to spin parallel to the ground and casts Stasis on it, stopping it in time. Unsure of how long the freezing effect lasts, Link sprints across the platform to the other side.

Now feeling confident, Link watches a giant boulder roll down the ramp and smirks once he realizes what he has to do. He waits for a boulder to roll past him then sprints up the ramp, aiming his slate at the new boulder rolling towards him. He makes a mistake though. Stasis has to recharge.

Eyes widening, Link scurries back down the ramp and launches himself to the side before the new boulder can crush him into a scrawny pancake. He groans and sits up, dusting off his clothes before shooting a glare at his slate. That information would have been nice to know.

A second attempt at the boulder trick proves successful, once the slate fully recharges. He even manages to nab the chest resting at the top of the ramp and trades out his strange wooden shield for a nicely designed one.

Continuing on he finds a sledgehammer resting against a wall. He decides to leave it there, as its uneven weight distribution reminds him too much of the axe he previously used. He walks along a narrow pathway that is blocked by yet another large stone. He isn't sure what to do with it and so he frowns. He knows he has to use Stasis somehow, but the boulder is already at rest, so he isn't sure what else the rune can do for him.

He casts it on the boulder anyways, tries his best to push it, and waits for the cast to wear off. The boulder tips forward and inch. That's when he realizes what to do. Backtracking, he retrieves the sledgehammer and casts Stasis one last time. He swings the sledgehammer as best he can on the narrow platform and whacks it into the boulder. This time, when the time runs out, the boulder rockets off the platform and into the darkness below.

He tosses the sledgehammer after it, obtains the spirit orb, and leaves.

The sun is low in the sky again when he materializes outside the Shrine. As much as Link wants to finish all three shrines today, he resigns to heading back to the old man's cabin before night can truly fall.

Upon arrival, he plops down next to the old man who is relaxed in front of the fire. The said man casts him a curious glance, "How is your Shrine exploration going?" Link wearily holds up two fingers and the old man nods contemplatively.

The night air settles around them, small fireflies dart through the air. Everything is calm, which makes the pain Link's body throbs with feel even worse. His fingers and toes both ache dully and the bruise on his side stings a bit whenever he gingerly touches it. He shifts uncomfortably in place, eyes darting everywhere; the stars, the ground, the fire.

Eventually he can't take the silence anymore, "What are you doing?" He asks the man next to him who had been rubbing his hand slowly over his knee for the last few minutes.

"This body of mine isn't what it used to be," the old man grunts as he attempts to ease his tight muscles. "Recovering from a bout of hard work takes a while…" Link nods in agreement and falls back into his thoughts. His foots starts to tap against the ground while he stares off into the distance. The old man looks at him tiredly after the tapping does not cease, "Are you hungry? I have an empty pot you can use to cook yourself a meal." He gestures to a metal basin placed over the fire.

Link stops fidgeting and his stomach growls loudly at the mention of food. He would love to use the pot, but…

"Got any tips?" He fingers the bottom of his shirt, embarrassed that he doesn't know the slightest about how to cook a decent meal.

"Just grab some ingredients and toss them in!" The old man proclaims, though a hearty smirk rests upon his lips. "Try to consider how the ingredients will complement one another."

The boy looks dubiously at his pack, pulling out a few of the mushrooms he had gathered throughout the day. He eyes the pot in self doubt. He'd end up ruining it. The old man leans forward a bit and tries to encourage him, "It's all about being creative and trying different things."

Link takes the purple and green mushrooms and throws them in the pot. After a moment of hesitation he also throws the pepper he had taken from the cabin in as well. He ends up with a pretty decent looking mushroom skewer after a bit and feels proud of himself.

The old man claps his hands together cheerily as link digs into his new meal, "Not bad, my boy," He takes a second look at the skewer and raises his white eyebrows, "Certainly not good… but not bad either." Link takes no offense.

The night passes quietly as the old man stargazes and Link sharpens his claymore. No other words are spoken between the two, but Link thinks it is nice to have company. Even if the company is a sarcastic old man.

The next morning Link warps to the Shrine of Resurrection, hoping that he can find a more gentle way up the mountain that the steep cliffs he had climbed the previous day. He makes his way to the expanse of grass above the Shrine of Resurrection and eyes the last Shrine. Which is on a snowy mountain. Of course. Link steels his resolve and starts to tromp through the snow, but quickly retreats after his fingers start to turn purple.

Great, he wouldn't be able to make it the the top of the snowy peaks without turning into an icicle himself.

He remembers that the old man's diary had mentioned a trade of a warm doublet for a specific recipe… Link sighs in resignation and hopes that the old man doesn't try to change this deal as well. What was the recipe called? Oh yes, spicy steak and seafood… or something link that.

He glances down at the forest that expands behind him. There must be some forest creatures living there, right? He should be able to hunt for some meat at the very least. He sighs again and makes his ways into the depths of the trees.

As soon as Link enters, he spots a whole camp of the red goblins. He notices that one even has a bow clutched within its clawed hands. A bow that he can take and use to hunt. Determined, Link slinks around the edge of the camp past the fire where three of them are cheering and around to the raised platform where the bow holding monster resides. He'd just take down this one, grab the bow, and leave.

He stealthily makes his way for the ladder attached to the platform, but the goblin notices him right as he grabs a hold of the bottommost rung. It yelps and blows an ear shattering note through a small horn it has. Link quickly ascends the ladder and sends his claymore smoothly through its neck, causing it- and the bow- to fall to the ground. Link dives after the discarded weapon and arrows as the three around the fire charge at him with flaming weapons.

Knowing that he can't make a clean escape anymore, Link shoves the arrows into his belt loop and tosses the bow onto his back before pulling out his claymore. He'd have to fight his way out of here.

He swings his sword in a wide arc over his head as his enemies close in on him and discovers with pleasant surprise that the momentum of his swing is enough to knock their shields to the side. He takes advantage of one of the now expose goblins and runs it through. It's a bit of a struggle to retract his sword from the body, and as a result he barely manages to dodge a flaming club aimed for his head.

An arrow lodges at his feet and he realizes another monster is perched across the camp on another lookout tower. Link starts to regret staying to attack the camp. His distraction makes him take a hit on his already injured side and he has to roll in the grass before the flames can lick up his clothes.

Luckily, this roll places him right next to the ladder he had climbed earlier, and he quickly shimmies his way up. The height advantage allows him to pull out his new bow and finish off the two grounded enemies with a few will placed shots to the head. The only other thing alive in the camp is the goblin that had shot an arrow at him. He doubts his bow can shoot an arrow all the way across the camp, so he hops down from his platform and darts behind a wooden box for cover. An arrow _thunks_ against the box and Link uses the time it takes for the goblin to nock another arrow to sprint to the next cover. How convenient that the goblins kept large boxes throughout their campsite.

He repeats this process until he gets to the ladder and he greets the creature at the top with a claymore to the face before it can imbed him with a final arrow. The blow sends the creature flying into the lake next to the camp.

He relaxes immediately, taking the moment of peace to look at the rest of the camp from his high viewpoint. A large hunk of meat is grilling over the fire- must have been what the three goblins were dancing about. A chest is also present, resting on a platform next to the fire. It's designed in the shape of a skull, and the eyes seem to glow a bright white.

Link helps himself to a bite of the nicely grilled meat before making his way to the chest. He leaves the camp with a new bow, a fully stomach, and an opal.

The boy immerses himself back into the woods, bow out and ready to shoot whatever game he comes across.

But, for as lush as the forest seems to be, an hour passes and Link is left with nothing to show for it. He had found a pack of wild boar and crouched to move closer and get a better shot, but he ended up scaring them away. He was starting to get annoyed at the multitude of plants clinging to him everytime he hid in the bushes.

Eventually, he spots another figure moving through the woods- and a large one at that. Grinning slightly to himself, he slowly approaches, drawing back his bow. He's just about to let the arrow fly before he realizes the frame looks much too familiar. He slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand and walks toward the figure. Towards the old man.

The stranger is hidden behind a tree, a wooden bow in hand. He turns towards Link as he approaches, "Well, well, well... So we meet again," he greets Link.

Link throws his hands out in exasperation, "What are you doing?"

The old man blinks, "Can you not see that I'm hunting here?" He motions for Link to lower, "You'll scare off my prey like that. At least crouch a bit." And with that, he stalks away after a squirrel. Link simply shakes his head and walks off in the opposite direction. What a strange man.

Two hours later he is finally able to fell a boar and uses his claymore to carve off two large portions of meat. He checks it off the list. Next, a fish. He hopes that the type of fish doesn't matter as he warps to the very first Shrine he completed. He had been hoping to find some fish in the ponds surrounding the Shrine, but what he finds instead are chests submerged in the water. He uses Magenisis to swiftly retrieve them, and isn't too disappointed by the amber and opal he gains.

He manages to catch a bass in a nearby pond and starts the long trek back to the log cabin. His back aches from crouching in the woods all day long and his clothes are soaked from his dip in the pond. He desires nothing more than to curl up by the fire and sleep the night away.

But first, he has to get the warm doublet. He has spent much too long on this plateau.

He finally makes it to the cabin and he immediately retrieves his three ingredients- the boar meat, the fish, and another pepper he stole from the old man- and dumps them roughly into the pot. He makes eye contact with the old man who is lounging by the fire once again. He tries to express as much of his exhaustion and frustration as possible through one gaze. His attempt is answered by a lazy raise of bushy eyebrows. Link huffs and turns his attention back onto the sizzling food.

When the meal is done he holds it out to the dozing man. The old man's dark eyes widen in shock as he fully registers what Link has in his hands. "That looks just like my signature perfect dish, spicy meat and seafood fry! But how did you- ?!" The old man mutters. Link nods at the dish, wanting him to take it.

But, the old man shakes his hands, refusing. "No need to give me the perfection. But, could I trouble you instead to share the recipe?" Link deadpans. The dish was literally named _spicy meat and seafood fry_. Was the old man dense? Or did he just make Link go through the arduous task of collecting the ingredients for fun?

"Peppers. Meat. Bass." Link responds flatly.

"Ah of course! Hyrule bass! How could I have forgotten?" The old man exclaims, slapping his forehead in laughter. "Please allow me to reward your culinary efforts with this warm doublet." The old man pulls the item of clothing off the log he leans against and tosses it at the boy who barely keeps it from landing in his newly cooked meal. "With that, you will be able to resist the bite of colder environments. But all I really need to warm up is that delicious spicy meat and seafood fry." He rubs his stomach and makes a satisfied noise.

Link makes sure to eat as obnoxiously as possible. The old man doesn't seem to notice and instead jots down things in his journal. Once his meal is finished Link curls on his side and drapes the warm doublet over himself like a blanket. He feels a comforting warmth spread through him and he flickers his blue eyes closed, ready to retreat into his dreams.


	5. Chapter 5

Link had to admit, the warm doublet did its job. The snug, green fabric wraps around his body like a blanket. His cheeks sting from the whipping and chilling wind, but the rest of his body stays relatively warm. He's on his way to the last of the four Shrines. Adrenaline pumps through his veins as he fights his way through the ankle deep snow. His blue eyes glance up and to the left where a towering mountain awaits him across from the ice cold expanse of the river. All he has to do is make it to the peak.

He slides down a snowy slope, heading to a crude bridge spanning the length of the river. As he comes to rest at the bottom of the hill, though, two white blobs emerge from the white powder and block his path. The boy laughs, pulling his claymore into his grasp. These things will be a joke compared to the whole camp he conquered yesterday.

One of the blobs pounces towards him and he calmly swings his sword, planning on hitting the enemy on his downswing. But, as the blob hits the ground, a spiked orb of ice explodes outward from it, enveloping Link in burning tendrils.

He can't move! The ice burns his skin as he struggles against his frozen confines, his eyes still wide open and able to view as the enemies prepare to ambush him in his state of vulnerability.

Right as they launch themselves at him he is able to free himself and tumble away from his ice prison. He's able to run his claymore through their gelatinous bodies once he gets his feet firmly under him, but they jet out the icy orbs upon death.

His second freezing was just an annoyance.

He picks up some of their left over goo and kicks snow at the residuals, noting to himself to attack ice blobs from afar with a bow.

He continues his path along the edge of the water, eyes trained on the bridge. A few of the robotic husks cling to a small slope next to his path, so Link approaches slowly to make sure neither of them awaken, then sprints past them as fast as he can.

The bridge is… in disrepair. Link hesitates to even call it a bridge. It seems to be simply made of metal chunks spanned across a few nicely placed rocks, though one metal piece is absent and instead laying in the snow a close distance away. Link easily uses Magnesis to place it it its proper place and hops across the structure reluctantly. He prays the entire way across that it would not break and sending falling into the river below.

Safely across, he eyes the two steep paths climbing languidly up the mountain's side. Separating the two paths is a large rock formation that he is relatively sure the Shrine rests on top of.

He needs to get to that Shrine as soon as possible. With that in mind, he ignores both of the paths and instead walks right up to the rocky wall and starts to pull himself up it. The quickest path is the one straight up.

The climb is short but arduous, and he is panting by the time he pulls himself head first onto the snowy ground at the top of the formation. He flips onto his back and takes a moment to calm his burning lungs and to swipe stinging snow off his cherry cheeks. Snow drifts calmly down from the sky, collecting on his hair, his clothes, his eyelashes. Link takes the moment of peace until the white puffs from his lips occur in a slower interval.

He peels himself off the ground and comes to a full stand, shaking his head to get as much of the clingy snow out of his hair as possible. He spots a camp full of enemies that the paths would have lead him to and metaphorically pats himself on the back for circumventing such an ordeal. Then, with a small grin and hope that the inside would be warmer, Link heads inside the final Shrine.

He obtains Cryonis, a rune that allows him to manifest vertical pillars of ice on any surface of water. The puzzles are simple to figure out. Make a pillar and climb on it to reach a higher surface, use a pillar to lift a gate, and so on. He does encounter another of the tiny robots and it manages to get one blast to his chest. It doesn't do much except push Link back a small distance, but the shock and fear of getting hit is its own punishment.

Sadly, he has to admit that his claymore is getting worn. That's why, when he manages to reach a chest with the use of the rune he trades his sword out for a very basic spear. It is definitely a downgrade, but Link figures a new weapon is better than an old one that will break any time now.

With his new spear in hand, he uses a final pillar to create a ramp up to the inclosed monk. Before he steps up to the barrier and shatters it he takes a few moments to dry off his boots that have gotten soaked romping around in the shallow puddles of the Shrine. The freezing surface outside would not take kindly to wet feet.

Once he does return to the outer world, though, the old man decides to drop in once again.

His large feet make imprints in the snow and large puffs of his breath make white clouds in the air. Link catches a short moment of exhaustion flicker on the old man's face before the man turns to him with a hearty grin, "Congrats my boy! You have acquired all of the spirit orbs from the Shrines on this plateau." The blond nods, a small smile gracing his face. He finally did it. The old man takes a step forward and pats the small boy on the shoulder with praise, "Oho! Extraordinary!"

After a moment, his hand then falls away and his face turns grave. "That means… it is finally time." Link glances up at him hopefully. This means he'll finally give him the paraglider, right? The stranger's eyes meet his and he shakes his head, as if reading Link's mind. "Link, it is finally time for me to tell you everything. But first…" He pivots his wide shoulders around and points his walking stick out to the landscapes below them. "Meet me in the center of the Shrines. I shall wait for you there." Link frowns and takes a step forward to argue. Why couldn't they discuss it here?

But, Link freezes when the old man turns back towards him. The man's body starts to be surrounded by small green flames. "Do you understand Link? Meet me… in the middle of the Shrines…" The old man whispers huskily, his entire image fading away just like the monks in the Shrines. Blue eyes stare in horror until the old man has completely disappeared.

Link swallows, realizations dawning upon him slowly. He knew there was something strange about the old man… Freezing winds rip at the last few dredges of warmth his body hold. There is no use in fretting about it all the way up here, Link decides. The map on his slate reveals that the area in the middle of all the Shrines is… The Temple of Time. Link's fingers grip the slate tighter, his knuckles white.  
So… it is finally time, indeed, Link thinks resolutely.

It takes him only a moment more to warp to the Shrine of Resurrection.

The boy makes the journey to the Temple as fast as he can, not giving his mind enough time or oxygen to think about what just transpired. He runs up the stairs two at a time, trying his best to ignore the robotic husks littered around him. His feet come to a halt as he enters the main part of the Temple. The entire left wall is torn open, exposed to the elements harshly, but that scar does little to tarnish the beauty of the building.

For the first time in the last hour, Link stills, breathes, and calms down. A statue stands before him, a mystical glow swirling pink, purple, and green from its base. It's in the form of a very beautiful woman. Most likely Hylia, the Goddess that all the monks bless before they fade away. Smaller statues surround her feet, miniature versions of the larger one. Link approaches and dips his head to pray. It seems like the proper thing to do.

As he does so, a voice calls out to him and his head snaps up, shocked.

 _You who have conquered the shrines and claimed their spirit orbs._

 _I can grant you great power._

 _In exchange for four spirit orbs, I will amplify your being._

 _So tell me what it is you desire._

 _Do you wish to be stronger, or to last longer?_

Link shakes himself out of the shock that he is talking to a literal _Goddess_ and bows his head again.

"To be stronger." He states. Realizing his blunder he quickly adds, "Please,"

 _I shall grant you the power you seek_. The gentle voice promises him.

The boy feels a rush of energy penetrate him. In an instant he feels himself stand much sturdier on his feet and he feels he has the ability to withstand many a wound.

And with that, the light around the statue fades.

"Oho!" Sounds from behind him, and Link slowly turns around, the true reason he rushed to this place seeping back into his mind. Seeing no one directly behind him, Link's blue eyes dart upwards and lo and behold there is the old man perched on the roof of the Temple.

The old man runs a hand through his beard, "The blessing of the Goddess has made you that much more resilient, I see…" He mumbles. He raises his walking stick, "Here I am… Get up here- quickly!" The old man calls before walking away, leaving small green wisps in his wake.

Link feels the need to throw his hands in the air. Climb onto the roof of a dilapidated building? A brilliant idea!

But he does it nonetheless.

He scales the smooth stone side and pulls himself up on a roof barely held together. He darts along the apex until he can hop to safely into a small balcony on the edge of the roof where the old man waits.

As he enters, the old man lets out a tired laugh, wiping a hand across his face for added effect. "Well done there, young one." He praises the boy, nodding as blue eyes stare silently back at him. "Now then… The time has come to show you who I truly am."

Link watches in guarded anticipation, unsure of what the old man is about to reveal. A wrinkled hand tightens its grip on the walking stick as the old man raises his chin. "I was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule."

Blue eyes widen. The old man… was the King? The man sighs, "I was… the last leader of Hyrule." He bows his head in shame, "A kingdom which no longer exists," He almost whispers.

A blinding light bursts from the old man's fame, causing Link to raise a hand to shield his eyes. When the white dots in his vision finally fade a ghostly figure floats in front of Link, adorned in full royal fittings of blue and gold. The old man- no, the King- has a crown placed atop his head with twin wings sprouting proud and golden from his white hair. A dark blue coat rests on his shoulders, gold embellishments stretching along the bottom and waist in triangular patterns. He wears a pure white shirt complete with ruffles and golden buttons that lead a trail down to his massive belt that shows the same double wing pattern wrapped around a three parted triangle. The green wisps that gathered around him before are now more plentiful. His image couldn't have been any more different than the sarcastic old man Link had first met.

His dark, mournful eyes are the same though, and they looks down at Link brimming with grief. "The Great Calamity was merciless. It devastated everything in its path, lo, a century ago," He glances away from Link's intense gaze for but a moment before meeting the blue eyes once again. "It was then that my life was taken away from me."

The King turns away from the boy, opting instead to stare at the mess that is now Hyrule castle through the gaping hole in the wall. Link remains in place, a weight slowly consolidating on his shoulders.

"I did not think it wise to overwhelm you while your memory was still fragile," the fallen King admits, his broad shoulders facing Link. His voice has now taken on a brisk and impersonal tone, as though he and Link are simply partaking in a regular meeting. "So I thought it best to assume a temporary form," He glances at the boy from over his shoulder and sees the stoney face Link has retreated into. "Forgive me," He says gruffly with nary a hint of regret.

He returns his focus on the swath of black and purple in the distance, "I think you are now ready. Ready to hear what happened 100 years ago."

He tells Link the tale of Calamity Ganon and the story of ages long past. He quotes to him the prophecy passed throughout generations:

 _The signs of a resurrection of Calamity Ganon are clear._

 _And the power to oppose it lies dormant beneath the ground_

He tells Link of how he commanded the efforts to heed the prophecy and ordered the excavation of large areas of land in order to search for these oppositional forces. How they discovered ancient relics made by long forgotten ancestors. They called them the Divine Beasts, powerful machines piloted by only the greatest of warriors. And along with the Divine Beasts were Guardians, an army of mechanical soldiers who fought autonomously.

He tells Link tales of a princess destined to inherit a sacred power. How she was assisted by a skilled knight who stood by her side. How they were surrounded by four of the greatest warriors throughout the land, and their Divine Beasts. How that team of champions were Hyrule's greatest hope against evil.

He told Link how that hope was mercilessly slaughtered.

The King described the fall of the Divine Beasts and the murder of their pilots; the possession of the Guardians and the succeeding genocide of the citizens of Castletown; the defeat of the princess's knight.

But, the King did offer a dose of hope. The survival of the princess. How she faced Calamity Ganon alone. How she still resides, trapped in battle in Hyrule Castle.

"That princess is my own daughter…" King Rhoam whispers. "My dear Zelda…" His shoulders tense. The thrum of familiarity resonates in Link's heart.

"And the courageous knight who protected her right up to the very end…!" The King almost shouts, turning his body slowly towards the boy. "That knight… was none other than you, Link."

Link had been expecting that sentence. He'd been expecting it since the King started to describe the knight at the princess's side. But, the words still hit his chest like a ton of bricks, and the burden on his shoulders suddenly becomes the world.

"You fought valiantly when your fate took an unfortunate turn." Link lowers his eyes to the ground, searching through his discarded memories for what happened to him that night. But he finds nothing. His fists curl in frustration and he returns his gaze towards the King. "And then, you were taken the the Shrine of Resurrection. Here you now stand revitalized, 100 years later.

"The words of guidance- the voice- you have been hearing since your awakening are from Princess Zelda herself." Link dips his head in agreement, having already come to that conclusion himself.

The King wavers, a certain vulnerability rising to the surface: concern for his daughter. "Her power will soon be exhausted," He admits softly. "Once that happens, Ganon will freely regenerate himself and _nothing_ will stop him from consuming our land."

He shifts marginally closer to the boy, "Considering that I could not save my own kingdom, I have no right to ask this of you, Link…" The King falters, his hands curling into fists and his voice taking on an almost desperate tone. "But, I am _powerless_ here." He strengthens his resolve and looks at the resurrected knight commandingly. "You must save her… my daughter. Do _whatever_ it takes to annihilate Ganon."

When Link makes no movement to respond, the King turns slightly back towards the shattered window, "Somehow Ganon has maintained control over all four Divine Beasts, as well as the Guardians swarming around Hyrule Castle." He shakes his head, "It would be quite reckless for you to head directly to the Castle at this point." Link cannot deny that truth, slowly walking towards the King now that full disclosure has been reached. "I suggest… that you make your way East, out to Kakariko Village. There you will find the elder, Impa. She will tell you more about the path that lies ahead."

He points out into the distance and Link follows the path of his finger with his gaze. "Your Sheikah Slate will show you the precise location. But for now, make your way past the twin summits of the Dueling Peaks. Follow the road, it will proceed North."

The King turns fully around to face Link one last time, "Here is the paraglider, just as I promised." The item materializes between the two, floating in midair until Link reaches out and takes it into his grasp. "With that, you should be able to fly safely off the plateau.

"And with that… that's it. I've told you everything I can." The ghost of the fell King glides away from Link, the visage wavering slightly as it starts to fade. "I must admit, in my life I did not know you very well. I saw you simply as a tool to keep my daughter safe." The King confides, "But, from the way she treated you I see now that my distance was a mistake." The ghost starts to disappear from the bottom, "If anyone can do this… it is you." The King closes his eyes as he fades and speaks with finality, "Link… you must… save Hyrule."

Link watches as the only other contact he has made in the world vanishes from his view. He is left alone with himself, a paraglider, and world to save.


	6. Chapter 6

Link is falling.

He enjoys the sensation, when he himself initiates it. He enjoys the feeling of the wind whipping against his skin. He likes the few seconds of gripping terror before his feet hit the ground.

But now, a few seconds have passed and Link is still falling.

Link jumped off the Great Plateau.

The boy sighs into the rushing wind and opens his new paraglider above his head, his rushing descent suddenly slowing. With a quick tilt of his pelvis he has the whole contraption gliding forward.

As much as Link likes falling, he likes gliding so much better. The view of the landscape rolling beneath him almost takes his mind away from the tsunami of thoughts cascading in his head. Almost.

His grip tightens on the paraglider. Last night he had just been some amnesiac dupe who had been surprisingly good at working a sword. Now he's some resurrected, prophetic hero who has to save the world from certain evil. Alone. Without any of his memories and only the short advice from a long dead King to go off of. Ha! Link sounds crazy, even to himself.

His arms start to ache so he closes the paraglider to allow himself to plummet once more. He only opens the contraption back up at the last second to keep himself from becoming a puddle on the ground.

His landing finds him on the edge of a ruined set of buildings, the Great Plateau a looming giant behind him. The robotic husks- no, the broken Guardians- are scattered about the ruins haphazardly. They must have been stopped in place once Zelda started her fight against Ganon, Link realizes. His aversion to them is decreased slightly due to knowledge of what they are, but his unease upon approaching one is still extremely abundant.

His first and foremost goal is to find a reliable weapon. He figures that somewhere in the strewn about remnants of towns there ought to be a few viable weapons lying around.

He stalks about the forgotten pieces of stone; past rotting tables; between once lively doorways. The first weapon he finds is plunged into the muddy ground between a door and a fallen Guardian. A quick tug and Link finds himself holding a rusted halberd. He tosses it aside without a second thought. It would last no more than one or two uses.

He stumbles upon a cobblestone road just as the sky opens up and releases a downpour on him. The first few drops that hit his skin surprise him, since he had forgotten just what rain felt like. For a few moments, he is overjoyed and pulled out of the stupor he had been in as he dashes around in the shower, feeling the grime and sweat wash off him. But, soon enough the joy is gone and he is miserable as the rain manages to soak every bit of him.

Dripping and moody, he continues the hunt for a new blade and the next weapon he finds is a rusty claymore left abandoned on the side of the road. He can't help but take it wit him, not as a replacement for his spear, but simply as means of protection until it breaks… Plus, it feels more familiar in his hands than the spear does.

He is quickly glad he did impulsively take the claymore, as within the next few paces he spots two giant versions of the red goblins he frequently faced on the plateau. These variations stand at least twice his height and grasp large clubs in their clawed hands. Luckily, one of them shambles away from the cobblestone road and out of hearing range. The other giant goblin has its back turned to Link, an easy ambush.

The blond sprints at his enemy, claymore raised and ready to swing downwards across the giant's back. The rain must help hide his footsteps, as the goblin does not notice Link's presence until the claymore is slicing its skin. It howls and turns around, its large eyes staring down at the boy as it raises its thick club, intending to strike Link on the head. But Link is already confidently slashing upwards into the enemy's stomach, a fatal blow.

Unfortunately, his claymore snaps near the hilt, but its job is accomplished as the large red creature slumps to the ground and does not stir.

Link tosses his useless spear onto the ground and hefts the felled monster's weapon into his hands. It's similar to the club he previously used back on the Great Plateau, except longer and with strange lumps on the end. The boy shrugs, it will do. He also collects a few more spoils- two fangs and a horn. With those in hand, he continues on his way before the second creature notices his presence.

He wonders if these creatures are under the control of Calamity Ganon as well. They obviously are not friendly, nor do they seem very intelligent.

Link groans when his journey is once again interrupted by another group of the goblins. They launch out from behind a clump of fallen stones and block his path with snarled features. Two of them are the usual red variation he is used to dealing with, but the third is… blue.

Link readies his new weapon and charges at the group. The two red ones dart in front of the blue one protectively. They are easily taken out with two hits to their heads.

The blue one almost takes a chunk out of his stomach as it lunges in with a short, dagger like weapon. Link hops backwards just in time and parries the attack with a swing into its side. This sends the blue monster flying away over the corpses of its red companions.

The boy rushes after it, swinging his club down in a fatal arch in an attempt to kill it before it even manages to get back onto its feet. But, the blue creature is intelligent to dodge the attack by rolling out of range. The blond is thrown off balance as he tries to stop the momentum of his bat; he was not expecting such a move from the blue monster. The enemy takes this opportunity to shamble onto its feet and hiss menacingly at the boy. It lunges at Link, but he is able to blindly swing his bat towards his adversary and kill it just as the short dagger gets worryingly close to his chest.

Link takes a deep breath in the calm lull after the fight, nerves shaken at the narrow victory. He leaves the corpses where they lay and continues down the road, acutely aware of the waning sunlight around him. At least the rain has stopped.

He treks across a decently intact bridge as he stops a figure ahead of him. His eyes widen. His pace quickens as his hope is realized- another person stands on the bridge, watching the water beneath flow by.

The man is slightly taller than Link and sports dark hair that matches the grim expression on his face. He holds one hand around the length of a spear and the other raised to his eyes, peering into the distance.

As Link approaches he catches the man whisper, "The end is near…"

He stops next to the stranger and rests his forearms against the ledge of the bridge. The man doesn't seem to notice the appearance of the boy and continues to murmur darkly, "I may be somewhat used to seeing bad omens by now, but oh boy… That is badder than most…" Link watches the stranger's hands shake, "We're doomed!"

Link raises an eyebrow and clears his throat. The man finally seems to notice the boy standing there, "Ah! Aha… I mean, don't panic!" He attempts to backpedal. He squints at Link suspiciously, "Sorry, who are you? Have we met?" Link shakes his head. The man continues staring for a moment then shrugs, "Well, doesn't matter who you are, really. I was getting tired of talking to myself, so you've come at a good time." He nods, his gaze seeming to be focused slightly above Link's head.

"But boy, are crazy things happening around here. Those towers rocketed out of the ground and those weird Shrines started glowing! That's why I've been keeping an eye on ol' Guardian here. Hafta make sure it doesn't start moving again," The man rambles, free hand flying around in wild gestures. The man points accusingly at the lifeless Guardian half submerged in the river ahead of them.

Link feels a shiver run through him as he takes in the husk the man points at. It looks pathetic, really. Fallen onto its side and missing multiple limbs, it probably could not even move if it wanted to. And yet the beady eye still stares straight at him.

"One of them once chased me down and tried to kill me once!" The man exclaims and causes Link to tear his gaze away from the sunken Guardian.

The boy takes a moment to regather his thoughts then sarcastically responds, "That one there? You don't say."

But the man doesn't catch his tone and waves his hand, letting out a small laugh. "No, no, it was a different one. Truth is, I just got lucky." The man pats Link's shoulder, "Be safe, kid."

He nods, satisfied that he has passed his wisdom on to a younger generation and continues down the bridge the way Link came.

Link wonders if all the locals are as eccentric as that man. He truly hopes not.

Luckily, at the end of the bridge is a small shelter adorning a single fire underneath it. Link is grateful for the cover in case the rain decides to start up again. He consumes a baked apple and curls up on the ground as the stars decorate the sky.

The next morning his blue eyes flutter open to the dark haired man standing over him. Link yelps in surprise and sits up, ready to defend himself. The man simply takes a step backwards and continues to fix him with a curious stare.

"What are you doing!?" Link exclaims, a flush rising to his cheeks. Why was this man staring at him in his sleep?

"You're finally awake." The man nods as if satisfied. "I was simply regarding your features. I noticed you have blond hair. That is not very common around these parts."

Link touches his hair self consciously. The man shrugs, "It isn't a big deal. Just odd. I hope the ground treated you well last night." He plops himself down next to the fire and starts to tear into an apple.

Link's entire right side of his neck aches from a lack of head support, but other than that he feels just fine. "I'm alive, so I'd say it treated me like royalty," Link responds coolly, still apprehensive despite the man's explanation of his strange behavior.

The man shoots him a toothy grin between apple bits, "I'm glad you had the brains to stay the night. If you had ventured out there when the moon was high…" He spins a finger in the general direction of the path and whistles, "a child as small as you would've been moblin meat within seconds."

Link leans forward a bit, resting his elbows on his knees. He chooses to ignore the dig at his height in favor of securing more information, "Moblin?"

The stranger looks at him incredulously, "Yeah, moblin. Ya know, those large red monsters? They kind of stand like this all the time," He hunches over and spreads his arms at his sides, bending them awkwardly at the elbows.

Link can't help but smirk a bit at the strange position. He must be talking about the creature that he had fought the previous day. "Oh, those. What are the smaller versions of them called?"

The man nods sagely, letting his arms fall out of the pose, "Those are bokoblins. Annoying little pests, they are." He takes another chomp into his apple. "Lots of people underestimate them, ya know? They're actually smart fellas." He fixes like with yet another suspicious stare, "But shouldn't you know their names? Where did you say you were from again?" Link averts his eyes.

"I actually need some directions." He dodges the question, not wanting to attempt to lie to someone who obviously knows this land much better than he. Plus, he truly does need directions. He knows the King had told him to just follow the road, but who knows how much the world could have changed in the last one hundred years.

The man raises an eyebrow, "Where are you wanting to go?" He wipes his lips with his sleeve, not questioning the shift in conversation.

"Kakariko Village." The syllables click in his mouth pleasantly.

"Ah," the man nods and sprawls his apple holding arm out to his right, "Kakariko is that way. You'll find a stable on the other side of the Dueling Peaks. Someone there can point you along."

Link nods in thanks and grabs his club, the handle slightly warm from resting so near the fire.

A stable, huh? The land must be more populated than Link had originally thought. He hoists himself up onto his feet and walks away from the flickering flames before his talking companion can ask anymore prying questions. The dark haired man calls out to his retreating form, "Good luck blondie!"


	7. Chapter 7

The sun has barely moved in the sky before he approaches a crude wooden sign posted into the ground. Link walks up to it and places his hands on his hips. "Proxim Bridge to the left… Dueling Peaks Stable to the right…" Unfortunately the sign does not specify how much further along the path Dueling Peaks Stable is.

The boy peers at the mountains ahead of him. Two hulking masses of rock stare at each other, only separated by a small river. Link can also spy another tower in front of the Dueling Peaks; bright orange lights run up its entire length. He figures he should probably scale it and access the map of the area, but first he'd have to find a bridge or, if necessary, a good place to swim across the water.

His continued journey finds him heading into a small patch of forest. Loud sounds of insects and birds echo around him and the leafy branches provide a welcome reprieve from the sun. The entire area feels so natural that Link is surprised when he spots the licking flames of a fire between two tree trunks. Curiosity gets the better of him and Link stalks through the undergrowth towards the fire.

He finds a stout little man whose features seem a bit too small for his round face. He dons short caramel locks that glow orange from the flames. His beady blue eyes target onto Link as soon as he reaches the edge of the campsite. "Hey! You a traveler? Grab a spot by the fire, if you'd like." His voice is slightly nasally and his short arms beckon Link with languid waves.

Link decides that he could use a short break and dips his head, taking a seat.

"I'm a traveling merchant. Name's Giro. Nice to meet ya!" Giro bobs his head, "You also a merchant? Let me tell ya, these are some crazy times we live in! I usually go into the forest all on my own to get my wares… But there are safer ways to get 'em. Such as buying from travelers like you!" The man leans towards Link a bit and punches him lightly on the forearm. Link flinches a bit at the sudden contact.

"So… Do ya happen to have anything rare you'd be interested in sellin'?" Giro wiggles his unkempt eyebrows at Link's hip pouch.

The boy blinks then glances at his pouch doubtfully, "All I really have are some mushrooms, a few things I took from some bokoblins, and these strange metallic things," He pulls a few of the items out and holds them in his hands to show the man.

Giro squints in investigation. A few moments of silence pass between the two before the merchant lets out a low whistle, "I mean, I'm always on the lookout for some of those monster parts you've got there. I know a few elixir makers who would pay a fine rupee for a few of those. You up for sellin' 'em?" His pale blue eyes flicker up to Link's deeper ones.

Link's eyebrows curl in confusion, "Uh… sure. I guess?" Giro triumphantly grins and snatches the horns and teeth out of Link's hands, replacing them with a small sack a moment later.

"Now it's my turn. Wanna buy somethin', kid?" Giro questions the boy, smirk spread across his face.

Link returns the unwanted items into his pouch and tentatively nods, feeling completely out of his element. "Uhm… yeah, show me the goods, I guess." Giro opens the pack resting next to him and pulls out a few items. When he looks through the retrieved items, though, Link is a bit… disappointed.

Two mushrooms, a carrot, some sort of rock, and a bundle of arrows. Giro wiggles his eyebrows, "Well my boy, which strikes your fancy?" Link starts to shake his head and Giro's face becomes much darker. The mischievous smirk fades into a threatening scowl, "What? None of my wares good enough for ya?"

Link has a feeling that buying something will save him a lot of hassle so he slowly points to the bundle of arrows, "How much for those?"

Giro's attitude lightens instantly, "Ah! Good choice! You can have a bundle of five arrows for only twenty rupees! What a steal!" Link opens the small pouch Giro had placed in his hands and finds that all that rests inside are four blue rupees.

"Wait… everything I just sold to you was only worth twenty rupees?" Link blurts in shock. His eyes flick accusingly up to the man. He could've died retrieving those items. His life was definitely worth more than a measly twenty!

Giro simply shrugs, "That's market value, kid. Don't blame me. So ya want the arrows or not?" Link moodily flings the bag of rupees back at the man and swipes the bundle of arrows off the ground. He then proceeds to stalk away from the camp, feeling conned.

Giro happily waves to his retreating back, "Nice doin' business with ya!"

A bit later Link finds himself atop a jumble of rocks, peering across a rapidly flowing river. Across from him stands the elegant orange tower and his access to the local map. He sees no bridge or land that would allow him to avoid getting wet, but dotted across the span of the river are a few rocks breaking the surface. He could easily swim to each one and rest before heading to the next.

The blond figures it's his best plan and starts to strip off his warm doublet. Its thick fabric would take ages to dry and would slow him down in the water. He folds it and sets it on a dip in the rock. He sets his sword and shield with it as well, figuring he would be fine without them for just a few minutes. His bow remains strapped to his back though, just in case.

He inches along the rock until his toes kiss the edge. He is about to jump into the water when his senses detect something coming towards him. He instinctively ducks as a sizeable boulder whizzes through the air above him. Wide eyed, he searches around for his attacker and his eyes land on a circular creature glaring at him, half submerged in the river downstream of him.

Link quickly whips out his bow and takes a shot at the creature, but the enemy launches itself into the air before the shot can land. Another rock comes hurtling at Link, having been spit from the creature's mouth; Link dodges it by a hair's width.

His back is pressed against the rock he stands on as he lines up his second shot. This time, he waits for the creature to jump back into the air before releasing his arrow. The arrow hits with a satisfying thud. The limp creature lands in the water and is carried downstream as Link furtively glances around to make sure its kin aren't going to appear looking for revenge.

Once the coast seems clear, Link slowly wades into the water as he had originally planned. The pull of the river is stronger than he expected. He fights valiantly against the flow, kicking his legs wildly until his fingers brush against the rough rock he was aiming for. He pulls himself up with gasping breaths; relaxing once he realizes he is safe.

He pulls himself into a sitting position and rubs some water out of his eyes. It would be best to move with the flow of the river, so the next safety rock he sets his eyes on lies downstream, but still closer to the tower. He takes a deep breath and hops back into the water.

He easily swims to this rock and as he pulls himself onto it he feels something strange brush against his foot. Looking down, he realizes there's a shell resting on a shelf of the rock. It's not the prettiest, but with the new room in his pouch he feels no remorse for taking it.

He crosses two more tiny spans of water before he takes landing on a large rock that leads him right up to a platform on the tower. He scales the tower quite easily. Each platform is located on the adjacent side of the tower's base, placed just far enough away from each other that Link's arms start to shake moments before he reaches the next one.

He makes it to the top and places his Sheikah Slate securely in its place and retrieves the map of the immediate area. He's pleased to see that the yellow dot on his map- representing Kakariko Village, is now fully mapped out. A small message appears just before he takes the slate back into his hands.

 _Sheikah Sensor now active. Searching for Shrines._

Link runs a hand through his hair thoughtfully. What in the world could that mean? He grabs onto the slate and it immediately starts beeping high pitched noises at him. The suddenness of it causes Link to almost send the slate falling to the ground.

He takes a few steps in varying directions and realizes quickly that the slate only beeps when he is heading a certain way. The slate must be able to sense where the nearest Shrine is and tell him if he is heading in the right direction. Interesting.

Still, the direction the slate wants him to go is opposite of where his stuff is waiting for him, back across the river. So he puts his slate away and takes a running leap off the tower, using his paraglider to fly himself over to where his warm doublet and equipment wait.

Once everything is back in place he refers to his map and nods in approval after confirming that the path he has been taking will indeed lead him right to Kakariko.

Unfortunately he soon discovers that his slate will not stop temperamentally beeping. He knows he must be approaching a Shrine as the path leads him between the towering peaks, but a squint of his eyes reveals nothing similar to a Shrine up ahead. What he does see, though, is the shape of another person walking between the Dueling Peaks.

This traveler looks a bit different than the other two Link has met so far. His hair is the darkest Link has seen yet, as is his skin. He has his right hand raised to his chin in a contemplative manner. Link jogs a bit to catch up to him. Just as the stranger's green eyes turn towards him Link's stomach releases a mighty growl. Link places a hand over it and rubs the back of his neck. Way to make an impression.

"Huh? What's the matter? Why the grumbles?" The man's eyes twinkle at the younger boy. "Well, if it's your tummy that's grumblin', you're talking to the right guy. I'm a butcher, as luck would have it! Call me Mezer. I'd be happy to sell you whatever I've got in stock!"

Realizing where this is heading, Link violently shakes his head and holds his hands up. "No! I'm not interested."

Mezer's thin eyebrows raise as his eyes grow wide, "But, I carry only the finest meats! I guarantee these are the top-choice provisions! Or your rupees back!" He calls hopelessly after the quickly retreating Link, who has decided to jog away. No more rotten merchants today, he decides.

The dual peaks surround him completely now, towering over him on both sides. His slate still insistently beeps, the noise grating on the blond's ears. Just as he is about to chuck the slate into the gently flowing river to his left, a familiar orange glow catches his eye. Across the narrow stretch of water waits a Shrine, lifted off the ground by a large slab of rock. Link's eyes light up in excitement. He's found his first Shrine since escaping the Great Plateau. He wonders if anymore runes will be bestowed on him inside.

A small bubbling on the surface of the river stops Link from wading across it. He waits a moment, eyes fixed on the part of the water where the disturbance occurred. Slowly, a green, scaly figure emerges from the water's depths. The water cascades down the stem of a horn that protrudes from the humanoid creature's snout, and small red eyes dart around for a moment before focusing solely on the blond.

Link straightens to a full standing position and raises his chin a bit. He fluidly pulls out his club and narrows his eyes at the creature.

The lizard like foe launches itself out of the water and towards Link. The only armor it seems to don is a thin metal helmet curled around its horn. It also seems to possess no weapons within its clawed grasp. Link hefts his shield in front of him as it draws closer.

But curiously, it stops a short distance away, still partially submerged in the water. It opens its large jaws and reveals rows of sharp teeth and a brightly colored tongue. The next moment that same tongue lashes out at Link, the yellow end slapping harshly against his shield as he block the attack. What a… strange attack method.

As the creature's tongue coils back into its mouth it takes a moment to steady itself. It must have hurt itself by hitting the shield. Serves it right, Link thinks as he dashes towards it and delivers a few well placed smacks. He knocks it easily onto the ground and strikes a final time a blow to the skull, leaving the enemy lying limply in the shallow water.

"Wow, that was impressive swordsmanship!" Calls out a voice from behind Link. The blond frowns and glances over his shoulder, only to see the merchant he had ditched shortly ago. The man pats his puffy hair and laughs. "If you weren't here and I had passed through… I would've been nothin' but monster grub! I would've never been able to take down that Lizalfos like you just did." He approaches the boy and pats him on the shoulder. "I want you to have this, as thanks."

He rifles around in his stuffed pack for a moment before pulling out a container holding some sort of food. Link stares at it dubiously. "It's a tough mushroom omelet," Mezer rushes to explain. "If you ever go against baddies like that one again, give it a try. It's rumored to make people's skin super tough!" Link's eyes drift towards the man doubtfully. How does a simple meal change the toughness of skin?

Mezer lets out a nervous laugh. "Well, hope ya like it. I best get going so I can get to the next campsite before dark. Thanks again, buddy!" And with that, the merchant shambles down the path. Link watches after him, the container securely in his hands. Maybe not all merchants are so bad, Link reasons.


	8. Chapter 8

The sun is crawling behind the trees when he exits the shadows of the Dueling Peaks. His stomach is full, his hair is wet, and his chest is warm from the recent obtaining of a Spirit Orb.

Everything is calm. Small breezes ruffle the long blades of grass that border his path. A beautiful picture paints itself on the horizon. Link tilts his head back slightly and smiles. After the craziness of the day, the silence is a blessing.

He spies something across the shallow river that can only be the stable the guard from before had mentioned. It is a cylindrical building with a giant wire and cloth horse head perched on top of it. So much for subtlety, Link thinks to himself. He crosses the span of the river swiftly, the darkening sky brining a chill to the air. He notes that directly across from the stable lies another Shrine. For as sacred as they claim to be, they don't seem very hard to find.

As Link approaches the building he is surrounded by the sweet aroma of a fire and pleasant chattering echos from the stable's depths. Small windmills twirl where they are attached to the walls of the stable and a few cuccos wander aimlessly around the fire.

Two small children glance at his approach and leave their warm fire to swarm around him. They seem to share the same features. Pudgy faces, upturned noses, droopy eyes, and mischievous smiles. They even are donned in the same cute red outfits with matching caps. The only difference between the two that Link can detect is their demeanor. One wiggles all around on the balls of his feet as the other crosses his arms and regards Link moodily.

"Hey, Shibo… what do you think of this one?" The moody one drawls, scanning the blond up and down.

"Just look at him, Darton. Those blue eyes of his are practically screaming the truth." The other quips. He clasps his hands together and sways from side to side dreamily. " _Nothing in this world matters to me except horses!_ That's what he's thinking Darton!" His brother nods in agreement without taking his eyes off Link.

Link glances between the two children and raises his eyebrows, "Actually, I haven't ridden a horse… in a long time, let's say."

Both of the boys go slack jawed, staring at him. But then, their faces slowly morphed into grins. They both grab onto one of his arms and jump up and down giddily. "That means we've got ourselves a customer!"

They release him and both hold our their right hands simultaneously. "Welcome to Dueling Peaks stable. Feel free to ask us about anything regarding horses and we'll gladly help you out. For a little fee of course." Shibo informs him, adding a sly smile and wink at the end.

Link backs away a step unconsciously. "Er… right. I'll be sure to do that."

Darton steps forwards and forces his hand into Link's, shaking it vigorously. "Glad to do business with you! So what do you want to know? Horse types will cost you about 10 rupees… Food effects will be around 15… oh! And if you want to know where to find the best of them that'll be 25." Darton babbles.

Shibo nods sagely, "All very exclusive information, mister."

Darton slides his hands away from the boy's and stares up at him. "So what'll it be? You wanna be a master horse rider? Yay or neigh?"

Link opens his mouth but someone comes to his rescue before he can say anything.

"Leave him alone you two! You do the same thing to every traveler who shows up here. Shoo!" A petite lady walks up behind the twins and grabs the back of their tunics, ushering them away as they squeak and complain. The twins stick their tongues out at her but do scamper away to three horses that are tied up and eating on the side of the stable.

The lady turns and casts Link an apologetic smile. "Those two are quite a handful. Sorry that they were you first introduction of this place. She takes a moment to take in Link's appearance and for the first time he realizes he must look like a mess and feels his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

The girl gives him a warm smile and holds her small hand towards him. "Sagessa," she offers.

Link takes her hand and gives it a small shake. "Link, it's nice to meet you."

Sagessa smiles more widely and surprises Link by twining her right arm around his left, guiding him over to some seats around the campfire. "We don't see a lot of people pass through here. That path you just traveled is known to be a pretty dangerous one." She sits on a dark wooden bench and pulls him down next to her, gently retracting her arm from his.

Link sets his equiptment on the ground behind them and relaxes into the seat. The fire in front of them warms his skin, ridding his hair of it's last traces of dampness.

The two sit in silence for a moment, a strong gust of wind passing through the area and causing some of Sagessa's dark hair to flick against his face. She laughs a bit and pats it down, giving him an apologetic glance. He's lost a moment in her blue eyes and realizes she's the first girl he's gotten to actually see since he's awoken.

She lingers on his gaze for a moment before turning her attention back to the fire. "So what were you doing, coming from that direction? There are still monsters wandering around, and the area near Hyrule Castle is especially dangerous." She regards him again, especially the tears and nicks in his clothing. "Is that where you came from? Don't take offense but you do look quite… worn." She admits sheepishly.

Link shakes his head, "It's… complicated. But no, I wasn't around the castle. I do know of the monsters you're talking about, though." He almost goes to pull out one of the bokoblin teeth as proof before he remembers that that shady merchant had robbed him of them. "I just wasn't fast enough to dodge some of them." He comments grimly.

Sagessa folds her hands in her lap and looks at him sympathetically, "Why didn't you take an elixir?" There's a moment of awkward silence as Link tries to remember what she's talking about.

Not wanting to seem dumb he lamely responds, "I didn't have any on me at the time…" He doesn't meet her eyes and instead decides to stare directly into the flames.

The lady next to him makes a noise and Link hears some shuffling happening. Something small and heavy lands in his lap and makes him flinch in surprise. It's… a small vial filled with something blue.

Sagessa looks smug as she nods at it. "I made it myself earlier today. Should help if you're in a rush. You're welcome."

Link can't help but smirk a bit at her pride. "Yeah, thanks."

She returns his smirk then fades into a more serious tone. "But really, I'm surprised you made it through that area without any elixirs. Don't be so irresponsible." She leans backwards and looks up at the sky, the stars starting to reveal themselves. "There's few enough cute boys on the road as it is. No need to go getting yourself killed." Link looks at her incredulously.

She giggles but still doesn't look at him. "Plus, you're not like all these twins around here. They can be so weird."

Link grasps onto the new, less awkward topic. "Are you a twin?"

Sagessa's hand rockets to her chest as she looks at the boy in a offended manner. "Of course not! I'm not weird!" She leans towards him and pokes his shoulder, faking a conspiratory glare, "Don't tell me you're one of them either!"

Link places both hands on his chest. "Me? Have a twin? How dare you accuse me of such crimes!" Sagessa breaks into a fit of laughter, her eyes squeezing shut. Link admires the moment.

Then a clammy hand slaps down on his shoulder and it's ruined. Link's hand automatically goes to grab his sword before he realizes that it is on the ground and that the perpetrator of the 'attack' is just another resident of the stable.

Sagessa looks up at Link's sudden movement and sighs when she sees who has arrived. "Hello, Hino. Can we help you with anything?" The midnight haired man's moustache quivers as he leans closer to Link, his hand glued to the boy's shoulder.

"Have you heard of the blood moon?" The man whispers dramatically. Link hears Sagessa release an even louder sigh but keeps his gaze on the bearded man as he shakes his head.

The odd man takes that opportunity to spread his arms towards the dark sky. "Whenever the clock strikes midnight on unlucky nights, the sky turns blood red. Monsters are brought back to life. Chaos reigns!" He whips his head back down to the blond and hisses, "That's the blood moon."

Link slowly looks over to the brunette sitting next to him and lowly asks, "Is he also a twin?"

Sagessa smirks a bit but shakes her head, "Nope. But, c'mon you didn't have to bait him like that. Everyone knows what the blood moon is, Link. You'd have to live under a rock your whole life to miss it, it happens pretty much every month."

Link chuckles softly to himself, "Right…"

Hino motions for the two of them to scoot and plops himself in between them, pulling out a small journal. "To be fair, Sagessa, it happens so often that many pay no mind to it. I simply remind them of the horrors of the world." He produces a charcoal stick and gestures to the sky, "Unfortunately, tonight's moon seems to be as normal as possible, but next time the red giant rears its head I'll be sure to take as many notes as possible." He then proceeds to scribble furiously with his stick.

Sagessa looks at the man sadly, "Sorry about him, Link. He spends so much time thinking about the moon that it's all he talks about." She stands and places a hand on Hino's head. "I'm going to show Link inside, be sure to put the fire out when you're done, moon boy." Hino grunts affirmatively. The brunette captures Link's arm once again. "C'mon, it's quite dark out, so I'll take you inside." She offers a smile.

Link nods and gives her one back, grabbing his things and following her into the circular building. The inside is dimly lit but homely, with beds pressed up against the walls in a circular pattern and a small service booth set up in the middle. This is where Sagessa leads Link as she flourishes a hand towards the man standing inside. "This is Tasseren. He's the head honcho of this place."

Tasseren is a dark skinned man with a full moustache and a small patch of hair on his chin. He wears a read vest with pink horse designs on it, as well as a silly hat to complete the outfit. Upon Sagessa's introduction, he places his hands on his desk and leans forward, eyeing Link up. "Who is this you've got, Sagessa? A customer?" He flashes a friendly grin at Link.

The girl bobs her head, "I believe so! This is Link, I found him being hunted down by the twins just outside of the stable. He owes me his life!" She jokes, lightly punching Link on his right arm.

The blond can't help but smile, falling easily into the banter. "It's true! I thought I was done for." He gushes dramatically, placing his right hand against his heart.

Tasseren lets out a bellowing laugh, slapping his palm against the smooth wood, "He's got a sense of humor! What a rare catch! Well, I'll tell you what, boy, a be here's usually twenty rupees, but I'll make it ten for you. How's that sound?" His dark eyes shine at the boy.

Link's face droops instantly, "Thank you, but I'm afraid I'll have to be on my way soon."

Sagessa looks at him and crosses her arms, "But it's almost dark. Can't you stay for the night and head out in the morning?"

Link dips his head in thanks, "No, but thank you for everything. I have an urgent mission to make my way to Kakariko Village." Internally, Link would love to stay the night here. But even with the owner's generous discount his wallet still hung empty at his waist.

Sagessa fixes him with a searching stare for a moment before flicking some hair out of her face, "That's ridiculous. No, you'll stay the night. I'm sure the mission can wait a few hours." She tips her head towards the man behind the counter, " I'm going to get him set up, I'll bring his payment up in a bit alright?" She gives him a soft smile.

The man shrugs, "That's fine with me. Make yourself at home here, Link." The man nods at the confused boy.

The brunette grabs Link's sleeve and pulls him away from the counter and over to an empty bed. "Here you go, you look like you could use some rest." The girl chides, forcing Link to sit on the bed.

The boy frowns, "Sagessa, I really can't stay the night." His voice drops to a whisper, "I have no rupees. I'm broke." His head hangs in shame and embarrassment.

Sagessa puts a hand on his shoulder and shrugs, "We've all been there. I'm not going to judge you. Just let me handle this, okay?" She slowly removes her hand. "I'll be right back."

Link watches as she retreats to the other side of the building, her long hair swaying with the movement. He wonders why she's being so nice to him. They're strangers, they don't know anything about each other.

She returns a bit later with two cups brimming with a hot liquid and settles next to Link on his bed. "Here, it's apple cider. Rensa makes it perfectly!" Link takes the warm liquid carefully, brining the light brown drink to his lips. A feeling of warmth and contentment washes through him and he sighs and lets his head fall back a bit. Sagessa giggles and nods in agreement.

They remain silent as they sip their drinks, each lost in their own thoughts.

Sagessa is the one to break the silence. "So what's so important in Kakariko? All I know about that town is that all of the Sheikah there hate outsiders. Kind of rude, in my opinion." She takes a long sip of her drink and waits for Link to reply.

He sighs and rests his cup on his lap. "Like I said earlier everything is kind of… complicated."He swipes at his bangs to keep them out of his eyes then stares down into his drink. "I just know I'm supposed to go there and talk to someone important."

Sagessa snorts, "Well good luck. Like I said, they tend to be a bit cold if you wander into their town without any wares to sell." She sighs. "How long will you be staying there?"

Link simply shrugs, "However long this whole mission takes I suppose." He decides he should probably not reveal his intentions to storm the castle as soon as possible. Sagessa would probably never let him leave.

The girl chuckles, "Okay then Mr. Hero." Link blinks at the nickname. "Well, if you ever happen to pass through Hateno let Bolson know you're my friend." She winks and finishes her drink. "Hateno is my hometown and he'll be sure to treat you nicely if you drop me into the conversation."

Link isn't sure where Hateno is, for obvious reasons but smiles and nods anyways, "Yeah, of course. But, won't you be heading back there eventually yourself?"

Sagessa tilts her head and considers his question for a moment, "...Eventually. But I needed to get out of there for awhile. Everything there is so… static. I wanted to add a little movement to my life and so far it's been great." She grins at the blond. Then she lifts up her hand and places it softly against his shoulder. "But you know… I'll probably be in this area for a while more so if you ever are near here again… come say hello, won't you?"

Link stares at her, unsure of what emotion is swirling in her eyes. So instead of answer he just nods. She smiles and takes his empty glass from his hands and stands. "Goodnight, Link." She says sweetly and walks away.


	9. Chapter 9

Link leaves the stable before the sun's rays touch the ground. He places an opal in Sagessa's bag before he goes, the blue hints in the ore reminding him of her eyes and kindness. He also snags a pitchfork that rests on the back of the stable, figuring it would be more useful that a wooden bat. Then he makes a quick stop at the Shrine just across from the stable, passing through its trials easily.

Once on the path to Kakariko again Link realizes he doesn't enjoy solitude. Sure, the nature surrounding him is beautiful and peaceful, but the merry conversation he had enjoyed last night was much preferable. He considers for a moment backtracking and asking Sagessa if she would like to accompany him to Kakariko. Perhaps arriving with the fallen hero from the past would make the Sheikah more open to having her around. Then he could have her as a partner to banter with for the rest of the journey.

He shakes his head, dashing any thought of it. Instead of focusing on his lack of companion he decides to put his energy into making it to Kakariko before sundown. The road under his feet is littered with orange dirt and large rock masses span around him, causing him to feel small and insignificant.

All in all, he's in a pretty lowly mood when he happens upon a rather pretty traveler heading the opposite direction of him. Her dark hair is pulled up into a bun and her face is tan from days of walking under the sun. She meets his eyes as they get closer, her eyebrows pulled upward in the form of a question. Link's mood instantly rises as she opens her mouth to ask, "Hey by any chance have you been to the Spring of Wisdom?"

Spring of Wisdom? Link shakes his head, "No, sorry."

She pouts a bit. "Darn. I was hoping you'd be able to tell me what it's like. You seem well traveled." Her eyes briefly glance down at his tattered appearance. Link internally winces. He really needs to get a new pair of clothes. The girl crosses her arms and kicks at a pebble in the path. "I know that Princess Zelda visited the spring in prayer. I have a great deal of love and respect for her… that's why I want to go." The girl sighs but then lifts her head and smiles warmly at Link. "Oh well. Thanks anyways. Good luck on your travels!"

She bobs her head and swings her arms at her sides, leaving the boy behind. Link shouts a response then turns away and continues on.

A Spring of Wisdom, huh? He etches the name into his mind, planning to find its location. If Zelda had visited it, then it must be important. Maybe it would help him answer some of his questions. Especially about her. Even that random girl knew more about the Princess than Link does. And he was her knight at one point!

He wonders if he enjoyed it, in the past. To be a knight one must believe full heartedly that the person they are assigned to are worth the risk. Possibly even one's life.

The prospect sounds almost terrifying to Link currently. And yet, whenever he thinks of this girl, trapped in an eternal battle in the tower, he feels nothing stronger than the urge to rush in there and make things right.

His path takes a sharp curve around a large cluster of mountains. Link glances at his map and realizes it's a straight shot to Kakariko… if he goes over the mountain.

It would save him so much time to simply climb to the top of this peak and parasail to the next, rather than take the winding path surrounded by cliffs as he has been.

So he puts his slate back where it belongs and approaches the cliff face, determined. He would make it to Kakariko by nightfall.

As soon as he makes it to the top of the first peak the skies open up. Link doesn't mind it until he lands halfway up the next mountain and realizes that the rain is very inconvenient for climbing. He pushes his wet bangs out of his face and frowns, finding the best grips in the wall as he can. He's not going to let a little rain stop him.

When he starts to slide down the cliff he curls his fingers into the wall, grasping onto the tiniest divit and pulling himself higher. Thunder rumbles in the distance as his fingers burn and his toes mash against the tips of his boots, but he continues to scale the rocky surface. His shirt clings to his chest and his equipment clink annoyingly with every motion he makes.

It probably would be easier if he just parasailed back down to the pathway and followed it for the rest of the journey. But he's already so close to the edge! It'd be a waste of this energy he's already spent if he gives up now. So He pushes on and drags himself over the last lip of the cliff, carefully hoisting himself to his feet and grinning proudly. Below him small lights of candles flicker through the windows of homes. He's made it to Kakariko!

All he has to do now is parasail down there and find-

Link turns his head and glances behind him. What was that noise? It sounds like… a bug flying too close to his ear. The sky rumbles and the noise only gets more intense. It's only when the blond notices the pitchfork he had nabbed glowing with tiny flickers of yellow all over its surface that he starts to panic.

He hurriedly yanks the offending weapon off his back and flings it away from him. But he's a moment too late. A giant flash of light explodes against the metal with such force that Link is thrown backwards. Off the cliff.

He's airborne for a moment, too dazed to think straight and pull out his paraglider. So instead his back meets the face of the cliff. He lets out a scream as the shart rocks slice easily through the thin cloth of his top… and his back. A bump shifts him slightly and instead of sliding down on his back his shield takes the brunt of the slide. Link focuses on keeping his legs away from the surface and also staying balanced on his shield. It's the only way he'll make it down without seriously injuring himself.

Just as he is about to reach the end of his slide, he collides with a large rock on the cliff face and rolls helplessly the rest of the way down. Now, with his face pressed into the ground, he lower back feels warm and twinges angrily with every breath he takes. His eyes lazily drift over to his arm, small pricks of wood embedded in it.

He should get up, he tells himself. He slowly moves his arms closer to his chest and pushes himself into an upright position… almost. His back shoots pain all the way up his spine and into his head that the last thing he senses is a flash of white and his bangs clinging to his face.

Darkness. Link is enveloped in darkness. Move. Muscles clench as he strains to move his arms, legs, anything. The darkness spreads over him, thick and warm. His hair is pulled into it and his head follows. His mouth opens up to scream, but his lips are sealed shut. The black sludge moves up towards his face, covering his cheeks. Blue eyes dart around for help, but they too are covered. Link is gone.

Link awakens to the smell of lilac. The second scent he detects is his own sweat. In his chest his heart still beats wildly and the comfortable blanket wrapped around him feels more like a smothering weight so he throws it off himself and onto the ground immediately.

That's when he realizes he is somewhere foreign… though that is of little surprise to him. The room he is in is warm, inviting, yet small. The walls and floor are made of a dark, beautiful wood and the bed he rests upon is filled with a soft yet firm material.

Link is relieved upon realization that his clothes were not tampered with. And yet, the gash across his lower back has been wrapped in a thick white material. His arms are covered in smaller patches of gauze, but Link oddly feels only a minor amount of pain, considering what had happened.

The boy carefully slides the pads of his feet onto the ground, cautious not only of the dull pain of his back, but also of waking whoever else is around. Due to the lack of windows in the room, Link isn't sure what time it is, but he'll be careful regardless. Sagessa's warning still lingers in his head. ' _They don't like outsiders'_.

Regardless, they still patched him up so they obviously didn't want him to die. Link rolls his shoulders slowly, the cracking noises that follow are satisfying. It is time for him to do some investigating.

It is immediately apparent that the room he was put in resides at the top of the building. And it was made to hold two people, as well. Across from his bed is one identical, made neatly as though no one had touched it that day. Perhaps it was made to house the injured like him, Link ponders as he shuffles towards a simple wooden desk adjacent to the empty bed.

On top of it rests a plain journal, scuffed slightly around the corners. Link turns to a random page in the middle and finds it blank, so he just closes it and continues on. Small trinkets adorn the wall around the bed. Small ornaments made of strange, woven into star patterns and suspended from tiny hooks. Link smiles a bit at the decoration. It is nice to see such care and love put into something after walking past ruin after ruin on his journey here.

It just makes him even more curious why the bed he was placed in lacked such personality around it.

Finding nothing else of interest in the room, Link slowly approaches the stairs and places his hand firmly against the wall. It wouldn't do to meet his hosts by falling down the stairs.

It takes him longer than he would like to admit, but he eventually makes it to the last few steps. He pauses, in a slight crouch from pain, when he hears whispers of voices.

"...he'll be mad?" squeaks the first voice, obviously one of a young female.

A beat passes before an older, more mature voice answers, "Most likely, but he'll never show it."

Link wonders if they are discussing him. Why would he be mad? They probably saved his life by housing him here and patching him up.

"You're right… I just panicked! I'm sure he'll forgive me once I get the chance to explain… right?" The higher voice quibbles once again.

Link steps off the stairs and rounds the corner. In front of him is a beautiful girl with pure white hair that cascades down her back, and red eyes that grow the size of the moon when she spots Link leaning tiredly against the wall.

"L-L-Link!" She stammers loudly, her hands clasping under her chin.

The boy offers a small smile that quickly falls into a frown of confusion. "Wait… How do you know my name?" He asks guardingly. The girl's cheeks turn to the color of her eyes and she falls silent, her mouth still in the shape of an 'o'.

Link's head snaps to the other woman in the room as she bursts into laughter. This woman is significantly older and smaller. Yet her many wrinkles do not subtract from the look of pure amusement on her face as her large hat's attachments wing and knock into each other as her shoulders shake.

"I'm obviously the one who told her, Link." The woman's laughter subsides as she looks at the blond with something akin to fondness. "Now we have much to discuss when you've had time to heal, but from your posture right now I can tell you are still in pain. Return to your bed for now, child." the older woman commands calmly,

Link's eyes dart between the two. "I'm sorry, I wanted to thank you for taking care of me… But I still don't know why you know who I am."

The young girl covers her mouth hand looks at her elder. The woman's eyes fog slightly in disappointment. She folds her hands into her lap, posture perfect and humor gone. "I know it has been a long time, but surely you still recognize me."

Link's eyebrows lift up and his frown deepens, "I don't remember anything from before. If you refer to me from the past then essentially you and I are strangers now."

Silence fills the room. The younger girl bows to the older and scurries upstairs where Link awoke. The boy does not move from his spot, frustration building inside of him.

The woman breaks eye contact with him, opting instead to look towards one of the larger windows in the room and nodding. "I see… we knew it to be a likely outcome but I still wanted to believe such a case would be untrue." Her gaze snaps back at him again. "My statement still stands. You are to rest, and then I will explain everything. We need to wait for someone to return anyways…" Link furrows his brow and takes a step towards her.

"You knew me from before? You can't hold that information from me, I need it more than anything!" He claims, regretting instantly taking such a large step as waves of pain shoot up his back.

The woman regards him carefully, "You truly don't remember anything?"

Link clenches his fists, "No. I awoke in a damp cave, by myself, with no inclination of who I was besides my name. And yet you knew I was there and left me to rot away in my sleep?" Link knows he's being unreasonable, especially to the person who sheltered him and wrapped him up, but he is tired and frustrated and not able to keep words from pouring out.

The woman's eyes flash dangerously, "Link, go upstairs and rest. You are in no condition to handle anything I must tell you. All will be explained in time. When you are ready." She turns away from him then, closing her eyes and keeping her hands in her lap.

Link glances at the door across from her. He considers imply leaving and finding his own way to the castle. But a quiet voice behind him interrupts his thoughts.

"Let me help you back up the stairs Master Link…" the girl from before stands behind him, cheeks still flared red but concern most prominent in her eyes. Link realizes she has the same symbol drawn on her forehead and nose as many of the monks in the Shrines. This distracts him enough to keep him from realizing her movement towards him and she wraps her arm around his shoulders. He instantly shrugs her off and makes towards the staircase himself.

"Thanks but I think I can do this myself." He stubbornly resists. The girl says nothing and follows him up the staircase as he makes his way gingerly up each step.

Link slumps onto his bed and watches as the girl digs through a drawer near him, producing a set of neatly folded clothes. She holds them out to him and he carefully takes the pile from her. She then quietly retreats to the other side of the room and stares at the floor. "Uhm… we thought you might like a change of clothes, but I figured you'd appreciate being able to change by yourself instead of… me doing it for you! So… yes! I will face this way and do my nightly prayer. Please change if you feel so inclined!" She stammers and quickly whips around and rests on her shins facing away from him, clasping her hands in front of her.

The blond watches her for a moment before unfolding the clothes. They're revealed to be a dark blue shirt that seems to large for him and trousers that are crisp and folded. And both smell like… pine needles.

Link shrugs, anything is better than his shirt that still shows some of his stomach when he moves his arms. So he gingerly changes and tosses his old clothes into the corner. He looks at the girl across the room again, his anger at the woman downstairs still present but buried for the time being. "Hey… thank you. What is your name? I don't think it was brought up."

The girl's shoulders visibly stiffen."I'm...P-p-paaaa-pppaiiii…." she taken a moment to breathe. "Paya!" She turns her head slightly over her shoulder, revealing s small smile.

Link can't help but smile back. "Well, thank you Paya. You are very kind."

That seems to break her as her head whips away and she goes silent.

Link blinks but then slowly crawls back onto his soft bed, tentatively pulling the previously discarded blanket back onto his legs.

That woman knows who he is… and a lot more. She even knows why he was put in that cave, and that he would have a chance of coming out with memory loss! The King had mentioned before that Link had taken a heavy hit in the past… heavy enough that he had to be put in that cave in the first place. But why would he be the only one? Surely others needed similar care from the look of destruction he passed.

There must be something important about him. Something other than him being the princesses's chosen knight. There are plenty of others who could have filled that role, he's sure.

Link's heart beats uncomfortably. His eyes squeeze shut and he lets his lungs release a large breath of air. He needs to relax. She won't reveal anything until he is healed, and the stress he is putting himself under will help no one. All he can do is wait.

Link decides he hates waiting.


	10. Chapter 10

Hazy candlelights, tangy scents of spirits, muttering voices. His clothing feels uncomfortably tight as he stands on the edge of the crowd.

Multitudes of people pass by him, all wearing the same style of elegant and extravagant outfits. A young lady in a long red dress sweeps past him, clinging to the arm of a slightly older man with his hair slicked back. A gray haired woman plucks a glass of liquid off the tray held by a servant boy. A tall man chats down to a much younger girl who nods politely in her deep blue gown. Link watches them interact with one another. No one bats an eye at him.

Gentle music is played in the background of all the chatter. A clatter sounds off to the side. He instinctively wants to reach for his sword, but his body does not move. He realizes just then that his sword hangs readily at his side rather than securely on his back.

Heads turn towards the noise. The gray haired woman from before huffs and berates the boy who had offered her the glass that now rests broken on the floor.

Realizing nothing of concern had happened, Link's eyes wander over to a golden haired girl who is surrounded by a ring of others. Her chin is lifted and her eyes betray a small hint of annoyance. Once of the men around her asks a question; she shakes her head; the whole group starts to chuckle. Her hands twitch before clasping together near her stomach.

Link starts to move towards her, though he isn't sure why. He feels not in control of his actions as he glides effortlessly through the crowd and hovers just outside of the ring of people surrounding the girl. Her eyes snap to his for a brief moment before she curtsies. "If you will all excuse me for just a moment, it seems as though my knight has a concern he wishes to share with me." The group turns and stares at him but he keeps his eyes trained on the girl as she slides between two of the taller men and leads him back to the fringe of the crowd where he was standing before.

She's beautiful, he thinks for a moment. Her golden hair sways as she walks with purpose, her white gown flowing behind her like water.

She hides behind one of the mahogany curtains that stretch all the way up to the vast ceiling. "Cover me," she demands. Link steps in front of her, blocking her from view of others, and faces the crowd as he was doing previously.

The girl sighs in relief. "Honestly, to think I would end up sending you the signal." She sounds disappointed in herself. "But, even admitting defeat and asking for help from you is easier than trying to stand all their prying questions and judgmental comments."

Link tries to turn his head to send her a questioning glance, but is unable to. "You were sending me a signal?" He asks instead.

The girl huffs, "I told you not to call me that." She almost snaps. Link blinks. He didn't call her anything! Why is she acting so annoyed with him? "And you will not tell my Father I used your… help tonight. I could have handled myself perfectly fine back there, as I've done before. I just chose not to." Link's head nods, even though he didn't want it to.

"I simply hate these balls… It's meant to be a celebration of my birthday, and yet all it ever is, every year, is permission for everyone to pester me about my training." Link feels the curtain shift behind me. "They ask me questions they already know the answer to! 'Have you unlocked them yet?', 'Have you tried focusing?', 'Do you participate in daily prayer?'" The girl makes a frustrated noise. "And soon the Grand Dance will start and I'll have to spend the whole song with whichever sleazy bachelor gets to me first. I've already had at least five ask me to dance with them…" She says disdainfully.

As if on command, the music dramatically changes to something much more dramatic. Link watches all the guests begin to partner up, and many a young man looks around wildly for the golden haired girl currently hidden between him and the curtain.

Said girl sighs, "Great, I jinxed it… I should go back and just get this dance and night over with." She steps out of her hiding spot and walks past him, but he reaches out and grabs her hand. Her green eyes widen and she whips around to face him, confusion written all over her face. "What are you doing?"

Link isn't sure himself. He feels himself step forwards and offer his elbow.

The girl's shocked expression turns to one of disgust for a moment, then after another second of calculation her gaze softens into what can only be described as resignation as she takes his offered arm and they enter the floor together.

Immediately harsh whispers spread across the room as Link steps away from the girl and stretches his right arm towards her. She gently places her right arm on top of his so that they both clasp each other just below the elbow. Then, they begin to dance.

The whole floor erupts in movement, each couple performing the same steps to the swell of the music. Link is shocked at his own graceful movements, running through the steps of the dance as though they were ingrained into his soul. The girl performs in the same way, seeming bored of the routine. As her feet and arms move precisely to the beat her eyes look everywhere except at him.

Then the song slows and Link steps closer to her, their palms pressing up against each other as they move slowly in a circle. The girl takes this moment to whisper to him, "You realize this is going to cause controversy and I'm going to hear about it for months from Father, right?"

Link wants to glance away from her intense gaze as she waits for an answer. "No, I think I was just trying to save you from having to dance with some 'sleazy bachelor' as you said before." He responds, gaze still locked with hers. She watches him for a moment before shaking her head a bit.

"Of course you knew, and yet you did it anyways. What else do I expect from you?" She sounds exasperated, but he can see a tiny hint of relief on her face that she is trying so hard to hide.

They fall into silence for a bit. The girl stares at the ground. They switch hands and start to move the opposite way when she looks at him again. "I'm still not going to thank you, though. I still firmly believe Father ordering you to tail me has been a large waste of both of our time and I will continue to inform him of that."

Link is taken aback for a moment at the utter hostility that tinges her words. "You say that, and yet I have done two things to make your night significantly better." He points out, wanting to defend himself.

She once again continues to stare at him with a calculating gaze then suddenly glances away. "No answer. As usual."

It's Link's turn to stare at her. "What are you talking about? I just responded." He states. This is all very strange, as though she is hearing nothing he is saying. He tries to stop dancing. Tries to do anything to break himself off this script that is playing. But his feet keep moving and his arm reaches up, spinning the girl underneath it then catching her around the waist as she goes for a graceful fall.

They remain still, Link's left knee bent and his face hovering over hers as he supports her. The final note of the song plays, dragged out over several seconds. She stares into his eyes and he feels a blush rush over his cheeks at their proximity.

This is Zelda, he realizes in a rush. Of course it is. She called him her knight after all. That's why a huge ball is being celebrated for her, and why she is the center of attention.

But if this is Zelda, why is she being so cruel to him?

The note finally fades and he helps her back to her feet. She brushes a strand of her hair out of her eyes and nods to him, "You're a good dance. I'll give you that." And with that, Zelda turns away and heads into the awaiting crowd. Many curious eyes settle themselves upon Link himself as he watches her go.

That's the girl he protected with his life, and she doesn't even want him around. In fact, he'd go as far to say she loathed him. What did he do to make her think of him this way?

The music starts up again and the candlelight seems to engulf the room until there is nothing left but white.

Link wakes to the smell of warm food. He slowly props himself up in bed and runs a hand through his messy hair. It seems Paya has already gotten up for the day and he wonders what time it is. Despite seeming to get a decent amount of rest he feels more exhausted than before. He remembers dreaming of a girl and a dance, but he can't recall much else from it.

Hi stomach growls at him so he slides out of his warm bed and follows the delicious scent to its source.

After an arduous journey down the stairs and an unhappy back, he rounds the corner to the sight of Paya and Impa sitting around a wooden table riddled with food. Paya drops her bowl onto the table when she sees him standing there and Impa turns her head and smiles. "Nice of you to join us, Link. Why don't you sit down and join us?"

Link eagerly nods and does so. They eat quietly, Link to enraptured in the feeling of well prepared food hitting his tongue to press for any answers to his past.

Once everyone finishes, Paya nervously glances around the room before speaking up, "L-Link I was wondering if you would like to meet everyone in town today?" Link hesitates a moment. The thought of meeting new people causes a small bubble of anxiety to well in his chest. Especially with Sagessa's reminder of the Sheikah not being accepting of newcomers. But, once glance at Paya's hopeful eyes and he realizes he can not say no.

"Sure… If you think it's a good idea." He replies after a moment of hesitation. Impa bobs her head in agreement before hoisting herself slowly to her feet. Paya is instantly on her feet as well, offering a hand to her grandmother, who simply waves it away and takes a seat in her usual spot.

"Why don't you two clean up our meal and head out right now?" The elder pulls on her giant hat. "The rain may have stopped by now. Plus, I'm sure everyone is very curious about who we've been keeping in here." Paya dips her head in acknowledgement.

She begins to gather all the uneaten food into small containers and Link decides to gather all the used plates. Paya smiles in gratefulness and nods her head over to an empty counter, "We'll clean them later, before dinner. For now you can just set them there." Link follows her instructions and sets the dishes where she wanted.

Paya puts away the food and touches her loose hair with a frown. "I need to make myself presentable, I'll be right back!" She promises before dashing upstairs.

A beat of silence passes as Link glances over at Impa. The elder meets his eyes for a second before abruptly looking at the door, a smile creeping over her face. Link slowly follows her gaze as the door bursts open.

Red eyes meet blue.


	11. Chapter 11

Paya tugs on Link's arm nervously, "I really think you shouldn't be doing that…" She whispers. Link holds his hands up to quiet her and tries to focus on the voices below him.

"Calm down, this changes nothing." Link faintly hears Impa's stern voice.

"This changes everything!" Hisses a male voice.

Paya tries again, "Link, please. Let's just sit on your bed and wait for them to call us down!" Link covers his right ear in an attempt to block out Paya's voice and listen better. No, he wasn't going to just sit and wait after being so rudely forced upstairs.

The man had entered the building and immediately locked eyes with him. The first thing Link noticed was that half his face was obscured by a mask that covered the lower half of his face. The second thing was that the man was soaking wet. The stranger's white hair clung to his face and neck where it came loose from his braid.

But Link wasn't able to observe much more before the stranger lowered into a bow. "Master Link, I'm glad to see you've finally awoken." The stranger said fluidly. Link gawked at the sight and looked over to Impa for explanation. But the elder offered no help, her previous smile replaced by a guarded look.

So LInk was left on his own. "Y-Yeah." He replied lamely, internally smacking himself. The man slowly came back into a standing position, towering over the blond.

"I apologize if you have been waiting for my return. I've just gotten back from a trip to Hateno. I'm sure Impa has informed you of everything." The man's voice flowed melodically and yet was deeper than Link's. Link watched as his red eyes darted over to the elder for confirmation.

Impa merely stated, "I have not." Link quickly looked back at the stranger, who seemed for falter for a second.

"Oh" He said. A stiff tension settled in the room.

Link felt the need to try to resolve it, "Has Impa told you about me? I see you know my name already. Which seems to be a common thing…" Link laughs lightly, hoping he didn't come off as awkward as he felt.

The man looked at him strangely, "That's hardly a surprise though, isn't it? Given who you are and all."

Link subconsciously shifted his weight away from the stranger and crosses his arms, "That's true… I'm just trying to get used to the fact that everyone knows me better than I do." Link added another laugh to the sentence but it came off as fake. The man's eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment before darkening with realization.

He looked over to Impa, "He doesn't remember anything, does he." It was a statement. The elder pressed her lips together and solemnly nodded.

Silence filled the room. Heavy, tangible silence.

Then Paya burst onto the scene. She rushed down the stairs and scurried over to Link. She regarded the man and gave him a large smile, "Hello brother glad to see you're home now Link why don't we go upstairs for a bit yes!" She said in a hurry then grabbed the blond with surprising strength and pushed him towards the stairs.

The sudden movement made Link's back scream in pain and he couldn't help but hiss. He tried to turn and go back into the room but Paya's eyes pleaded at him to continue up the stairs so he unwillingly did so.

And now he would listen to their conversation whether Paya wanted him to or not.

"I was only supposed to be a… and now I'll have to be so much more! I wasn't trained for… Does he even ... fight? ….pretty tattered to me!" The stranger's voice warbles in and out of range, as he tends to speak low and quiet but with intensity. Link shivers at the sound of it.

Impa is the opposite, her voice's ferocity echoing across the walls and making Paya jump, "You will speak with respect! This attitude is unbecoming and your position is an honor!" Paya seems to give up on making Link move and paces behind him.

The man's reply is too quiet to hear and it is long before Impa replies.

"Exactly. Take a moment to gather yourself and we will try again." Impa sounds calmer, more in control of the situation. A beat passes and Link hears the door to the house close.

Paya audibly lets out a breath and sets herself on her bed.

With no other conversation to listen in on, Link approaches Paya's bed and sits next to her. She visibly stiffens but does not move away.

"So that was your brother?" Link asks, having someone caught the word during Paya's babble earlier. She nods her head a bit. "He seems… nice…" Link says a bit sarcastically.

Paya looks at him with wide eyes, "He is!" She insists. "He just… cares a lot." She waves a hand sheepishly in the air.

Link gives her a look, "Right." He stares distantly to the staircase. "Why did he get so mad that I don't remember anything? What does it really matter? I'm still going to save the princess." Link furrows his brow. What more could his memories serve him than additional motivation that he doesn't even need? He can still hold a sword competently and navigate the Sheikah Slate. Well, as much as he needs to that is.

Paya folds her hands in her lap, "I don't think dissecting my brother is something I'm very good at. He'll fully explain when he gets back I'm sure… though probably not why he was upset." She admits.

Link hums then looks at her. Her face is flushed, most likely from his proximity, but she seems to be keeping herself together for the most part. Her eyes are looking everywhere except at him, but it's almost endearing. Link smiles at her, "I'm glad you and I didn't get off to such a bad start. Thank you, Paya."

The girl glances at him for a second before nervously giggling and looking away once again, her cheeks ablaze.

Then she stands, which surprises Link. "I think we should still take you around the town. I have the perfect place for us to start." She says, an almost sly smile appearing on her lips. She swiftly pulls the top half of her hair into a bun and smoothes her clothes.

Link hesitates, "But isn't your brother out there? Shouldn't we wait for him to come back?" The last thing he wants us to anger the man further by being absent upon his second return.

Paya shakes her head, confidence seeming to grow in her now that she has a plan. "No, I know exactly where he goes to sulk and it will take him a bit to simmer down." She tosses Link his boots. " Plus I'm sure right now he has approximately three hundred different plans on how to handle the rest of today and it will take him awhile to decide on the right course of action." She smiles at Link, "We'll be fine.

Then, with Links arm in hand, she leads the boy out of the house for the first time.

Kakariko is… wet. Link's blue eyes take in the gray clouds unleashing a tiny drizzle of water as his boots squelch in the mud. The houses themselves look odd, with large almost circular roofs and tall doorways. Clucks of livestock sound randomly from a distance and squeals of young laughter echo from a house down the road. It's really not what he expected at all. It's… a small farm village.

Paya leads him down the slick wooden steps and past two guards who smile and nod at her. When Link passes they stare curiously but do not question him. They're both very tall and muscular, holding weapons and with years of experience written on their faces. They also wear unique headgear, shaped slightly like a pyramid.

Link gives them a small smile then darts past them. Paya gives them a wave then continues to lead Link away. "I'll introduce you to them later." She promises. "They're much nicer than they initially look, trust me." And Link finds that, oddly enough, he does. She's the closest person she's gotten to since awakening and has shown nothing but kindness. Plus, it's hard not to trust such a genuine smile.

She pushes open the door to one of the buildings with a sign reading ' _Enchanted'_. Link is instantly smacked in the face with the overwhelming scent of rose. The inside of the building feels a bit cramped due to the low roof and piles of clothing folded up on the edges of the store. Two outfits in particular are mounted on wooden mannequins and seem to be promoted more than the rest.

Paya makes her way up to the counter and peers over it. "Claree?" She calls, a bit timidly. A mature woman pops up from behind the counter with a large grin.

"Paya! My dear! Welcome to Enchanted!" Paya gasps and stumbles backwards into Link who also stumbles from the unexpected contact. Paya then yelps again and runs to the side of the counter and covers her face.

"I-I'm so sorry Link!" She squeals, peering between her fingers to make sure the boy is okay.

Link steadies himself and holds up his hands. "It's okay! It was an accident!" He reassures her, ignoring the twinge in his back. Claree places her hands on the counter, unfazed by the incident and peers at Link silently. Link slowly lowers his hands and glances at Paya.

"Who do you have here with you, Paya?" Claree questions. She leans forward a bit and starts to grin, "A customer?" She struts out from behind the desk and suddenly she's stretching a thin piece of cloth marked with measurements between her hands.

Paya lets out a breath and removes her hands from her face, "Yes, actually. You see, he needs a new pair of clothes and I know you'd do a fantastic job!" Claree grabs Link's right arm and stretches it out to his side roughly. "But be careful with him! He's still healing…" Paya warns.

Link flushes a bit in embarassment, "I'm fine, Paya…" Claree hums and frowns as she stretches the measuring device from the tip of his finger to his armpit.

"You're much smaller and skinnier than my usual customers. I rarely get to sell to Hylians due to the town's wariness of strangers." She grumbles and shoots a look at Paya. "It's very bad for business, you know." Paya nervously smiles and gives her an apologetic shrug.

Claree attempts to take another measurement- around his waist and frowns. She stands up straight and pinches at the loose fabric around Link's stomach. "This will not do. The clothing is too baggy. If you want accurate measurements you'll have to… get rid of it."

Link stares at her a bit then shrugs, "If that's what you need." He grabs the bottom of his shirt and starts to pull it up when Paya starts stuttering from her corner. Both Link and Claree turn their heads towards her curiously and find her clasping her hands over her eyes.

"I-I-I'll wait outside!" She stammers and rushes towards the door, knocking into a few of the shelves on her way out. Claree starts to snicker as the door slams shut.

"She's so shy, it's adorable. It's too bad Lasli is spending the day with her Nanna, she could've kept Paya company." Claree says distractedly, gazing at the closed door.

Link takes the moment to pull his shirt off and set it on one of the empty stands. Claree turns her attention back to him and glances at his discarded shirt. "Is that Sheikah garb? I'm surprised." She jesures to his bottoms, "Those too."

Link nods and strips those off as well, "Why are you surprised?" He sets the pants on top of the shirt in a messy pile, now standing only in bandages and his underwear.

Claree's eyes narrow in focus as she begins to move Link's limbs and measure accordingly. She takes a moment to reply, "We tend to try to keep our traditional designs and clothing to ourselves." She wraps the cloth around his thigh. "And you're obviously not Sheikah, Hylian." She shuffles around behind him and makes an intrigued noise. "What did you do to your back? That's some large bandaging you've got going here."

Link makes a face, "Nature and I didn't exactly agree." Claree chuckles and measures the length of his spine. Link suppresses the urge to shift away.

"You're a traveler then? How long are you planning to stay around?" Claree questions. She moves back to his front and wraps the cloth around his neck snugly. She raises a white eyebrow suggestively at him, "I hope it's for awhile."

Link's cheeks burn and he looks towards the ceiling. "I'm not sure. We're sort of waiting on Paya's brother to make a decision tonight…" Link isn't sure if he should be sharing this information, but it's a small town right? He's sure they'll all know the details by the end of the day anyways.

Claree steps away from him with a shocked expression. "He's back? He's been gone for a few months now…" She paces over to the counter and scribbles some things down on a pad. She waves a hand in Link's general direction. "You can get dressed now, I've got everything I need." Link nods and slides back into his borrowed clothes. When he's finished he looks up to see Claree gazing thoughtfully at him, tapping a finger against her chin.

"I see… this is all starting to make sense." She drawls. She lazily points a finger at him. "You're the fallen hero, aren't you?" Link glances at the door, feeling as though he should invite Paya back in for this conversation. Claree shakes her head, "No, no, if we bring her back in I won't get the information I need from you." She slides into a chair behind the desk and plucks a needle from a drawer.

"Before you explain though, I need you to pick a design." She gestures with her needle to around the room.

Link scans the room, using the time to gather his thoughts. He pretends to browse through the patterns as his mind spins.

She didn't recognize him instantly like the Impa and Paya did. It wasn't until he mentioned Paya's brother that she connected the dots. But why? He'd have to ask Paya later… or he could ask Claree right now. Paya won't answer certain questions, after all. This nosy clothing maker could be his key to getting to know more about the past. That is, if she even knows anything about it. Link hopes his judgement in the small town's ability to gossip is correct and that she's gotten the scoop through the grapevine.

"I'm flattered that you think my designs are this intriguing, but simply pick one already, hero." Claree calls from her desk, tapping her needle against the wood. Link pauses where he stands, hands running over the textured fabric of a hood. It's one of the two designs featured on the wooden mannequins.

Link shrugs, "This one will do." He states.

Claree claps her hands together excitedly. "Not only are you dashingly gorgeous and a literal knight, but you've also got a great sense in style!" She exclaims. "Of course you'd choose a design from the Claree collection." She winks across the room at him.

Link steps away and really looks at his choice. "Well, I figured the hood could be useful to hide my face, in case I need people to not recognize me… And those colors on the tunic? They'd look really good on me." He admits, throwing a sly grin her way.

She chuckles under her breath and pulls a swath of fabric onto her work space. "You're very right about that…" Her hands nimbly start to work the cloth. Her eyes remain focused on her work as she casually asks, "So, fallen knight. What's your plan?".

Link looks over at her, "You mean in the long run?" Claree bobs her head. "To save the princess of course." Link immediately responds.

Claree pauses her work and gives him an unimpressed look. "First of all, you're not 'saving' her. A lot of Hylians have chosen to pass this fact off as myth, but Princess Zelda is still in that castle putting up a fight. You'd simply be going and assisting her." Claree says matter-of-factly. Link runs a hand through his hair. That's what he had meant… "Secondly, is that your whole plan? To just run to the castle and fight the beast that has ruined this whole land?" Claree snorts. "I guess that's why you don't have the Triforce of Wisdom."

Link decides to ask someone else about the Triforce who won't make fun of him for not knowing.

Claree goes silent as she slices through a piece of fabric. Link takes a few slow steps towards her. What should he ask first? How he died? No… that matters the least. He should ask more about Calamity Ganon himself, how it fights and took over the land. Yes, that's the important information. He needs to know how to become stronger and exploit its weaknesses. He raises his head, "Claree-"

She holds up a hand to stop him and pauses her work, "Wait. I have a feeling Paya is going to interrupt our little moment here soon so I have one more thing to say to you." Link tilts his head slightly. Claree's eyes turn stern. "If you let him get hurt… or worse… this whole village will hunt you down and make sure you never regret it. That I promise."

Link's eyes widen and he holds his hands up innocently as a knock sounds on the door. "U-Uhm… Can I come back in?" Paya's soft voice asks. Claree closes her eyes for a moment and replaces the smile on her lips as she sits back down.

"Of course! I'm so sorry we forgot you out there, Paya!" Claree chirps. Paya peeks through the doorway and slides back in when she Link fully clothed once again. "He chose a lovely design, don't you think, Paya?" Claree holds up an almost finished tunic to show it off.

Link gapes, "How did you make that so fast?" Both Paya and Claree laugh at his question and he looks between the girls incredulously.

Neither deem his question important enough to answer and Claree goes back to focusing on her work. "You have to show him off to everyone else, right Paya? Go on, I've got his measurements and should be done shortly."

Paya smiles gratefully, "Thank you Claree." She turns to Link, "Are you ready to head out?"

Link casts a glance at Claree who smiles at him but also gives him a serious look. Link suddenly no longer wishes to be in the same room. So much for getting information. "Yeah, Paya. Let's head out." A small bell chimes as the pair leaves the shop.

Claree sets her needle down and hums thoughtfully, "His time has finally come, hm?" She bows her head and clasps her hands together, "Please Goddess, keep those boys safe.


End file.
